Original | Odaily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser (@wenser2010)
As one of the key figures driving the legislation for a strategic Bit reserve, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis recently stated that "the executive order of the Trump administration is just the beginning." Subsequently, she and U.S. Representative from Alaska Nick Begich jointly announced that they will "unveil major Bit policy-related news on March 11 (this Tuesday)."
On March 11, Cynthia Lummis announced the latest news: reintroducing a new version of the Bit bill, which will incorporate the vision of former President Trump to establish a U.S. strategic Bit reserve.
Previously, Odaily reported that the establishment of a cryptocurrency reserve through a presidential executive order by Trump still retained the possibility of the previous "purchase of 1 million BTC in 5 years" Bit strategic reserve plan. Combined with the specific content of the new Bit bill released todaynew Bit bill, the possibility of the U.S. government purchasing BTC as a strategic reserve is still quite high. Odaily will review the latest progress of the Bit bill in this article for readers' reference.
Bit Bill Update: 1 Million BTC Held for at Least 20 Years, Treasury and Federal Reserve May Co-Finance
On March 11, at a Bit conference organized by the Bit Policy Institute, Cynthia Lummis said in a speech that "we will reintroduce the Bit bill to purchase 1 million dollars worth of Bit."
Bit Magazine CEO David Bailey voiced his support, saying, "What people overlook about the SBR (Strategic Bit Reserve) is that it requires both executive action and legislation to implement. We need both. The executive action clears the political path and tells Congress this is a priority. Now is the time for the Bit bill."
Furthermore, the bill has also received the co-sponsorship of Republican Senators Jim Justice (West Virginia), Tommy Tuberville (Alabama), Roger Marshall (Kansas), Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), and Bernie Moreno (Ohio), according to their support.
7 Republican Senators Appearing Together
It is worth mentioning that the new Bit bill not only received strong support from Republicans, but also Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna from California expressed that "Bit should be bipartisan. We can't have one president issue an executive order and another revoke it, leading to uncertain policies. We need consensus, Bit is good for America and the world...Democrats should embrace Bit." According to Cynthia Lummis herself, the bill also has the support of former President Trump.
On March 12, at the Bit For America Summit, Republican Representative from Alaska Nick Begich announced that he will introduce a 2025 updated version of the Bit bill based on Senator Lummis' proposal last year, proposing that the U.S. acquire 1 million Bit without increasing the tax burden on citizens, and protect the right of U.S. citizens to self-custody Bit. "This bill clearly protects the fundamental right of individuals to own, hold and trade Bit," Rep. Begich said, "it will treat self-custody as a basic right."
On March 13, the latest version of the Bit bill was officially posted on the congressional website, with key differentiating content including:
Purchase Quantity Specified: The 2025 Bit bill sets a stricter plan to purchase 200,000 Bit per year (rather than "up to" 200,000 Bit per year in the 2024 version).
Holding Requirement Stricter: The new version also strengthens the holding requirement, requiring at least 20 years of holding, and removes the mentioned "exception clause for strategic reserve Bit to be used as a tool to repay federal debt", in other words, the holding requirement for the purchased Bit is more stringent.
Latest Bill Content
Source of Purchase Funds: The new bill adds a clause to coordinate the purchase of Bit with the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) (Note: ESF is a reserve fund under the U.S. Treasury Department with about $39 billion in assets, the executive branch may use this fund to purchase BTC; in terms of gold revaluation, the latest version clearly states that the proceeds from the revaluation of federal reserve gold should be used to purchase Bit, while the previous version only included these funds in the general fund, which is a significant change; in addition, the latest bill also mentions existing diversified funding channels from the Federal Reserve system - from 2025 to 2029, the first $6 billion of the Federal Reserve's annual remittances will be used to establish the reserve.
In addition, aspects such as quarterly reserve proof for Bit, voluntary participation by national powers, and financing through the transfer of federal government revenues remain basically unchanged.
Still 4/5 of the Way to Becoming Law: Mainly Dependent on 2 Votes, with Trump Making the Final Decision
According to the information on the congressional website, the bill has currently gone through two readings and been referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
After a series of votes, debates or amendments, if the bill is passed by the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs with a simple majority (218 out of 435 votes), it will then be submitted to the Senate for committee debate and voting, also subject to a simple majority (51 out of 100 votes) to be passed. Finally, a joint committee of House and Senate members will resolve any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, and the resulting bill will be returned to the House and Senate for final approval. The Government Publishing Office will print the revised bill in a process called "enrollment". At this point, as the final step, former President Trump will have 10 days to sign or veto the enrolled bill.
In other words, the 2025 Bit bill still needs to go through 4 more steps before it can finally become law and be implemented.
Relevant Information on the Congressional Website
It is worth mentioning that in this update of the Bit bill, in addition to using the proceeds from gold revaluation as a source of funding for the purchase of Bit, the Bit strategic reserve has also been compared to the gold strategic reserve, with the two being given equal emphasis in terms of scale and strategic importance.
As Congressman Nick Begich said in his speech, "The battle for innovation is over, and the golden age of digital currencies has arrived."
As of March 12, according to the Bitcoin Voter Project's disclosure on X platform, the bill has received strong support from 12 members of Congress.
Cynthia Lummis' second batch of "allies"
Industry comments: Praise for the latest Bitcoin bill, with the potential to become the next "Louisiana Purchase"
Strike CEO and co-founder Jack Mallers, speaking at the Bitcoin For America conference, stated that the Bitcoin strategic reserve is "a turning point in American history".
Microstrategy founder Michael Saylor, in a post on X platform, placed the significance of the Bitcoin strategic reserve on par with the historical land acquisitions that expanded the US territory, stating: "We once bought 78% of America's land for $40 million. America should buy Bit." (Odaily note: The US has spent varying amounts of money over time to purchase Manhattan, Louisiana, California, and Alaska, among other regions.)
The "Bitcoin Reserve Moment" in American history
It must be said that in terms of ensuring America's economic leadership, the Bitcoin strategic reserve is a crucial element in the eyes of many professionals in the political and crypto spheres.
Conclusion: Bitcoin to guard America's financial future
After Trump took office, he quickly implemented a series of tariff protection policies, which led to a downward trend in the US stock market and the crypto market. Some believe that the Trump administration's move may be to use a slight economic downturn in the US to prompt the Federal Reserve to make more rate cuts, in order to provide support for the recovery and further development of the US economy.
On the other hand, the Bitcoin strategic reserve may become a "touchstone" for Trump to promote the implementation of various policies. On the one hand, it may gradually alleviate the pressure on US debt; on the other hand, it may become an important part of the tug-of-war over economic decision-making power between the Trump administration, including the Treasury Department, and the Federal Reserve.
In ensuring America's financial future and economic hegemony, the role of Bit will gradually emerge.
