US Senate Moves Bitcoin Reserve Bill To Banking Committee

At the recent Bitcoin conference in July, popular crypto-friendly senator Cynthia Lummis announced plans to introduce a bill that will allow the US government to adopt Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. Five days later since Lummis’ declaration, there have been notable encouraging developments with what could be the most significant legislation in terms of crypto use and adoption in the US.

Lummis’ Bitcoin Reserve Bill Explained

According to data from US Congress, Lummis, who is representing Wyoming, introduced a legislative bill on July 31 that will direct the US government to establish a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” program.  Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, the Democrat legislator previously explained that this new bill will order the US Treasury to acquire 1 million Bitcoins, valued at around $60 billion, over a period of five years.

Lummis likened this initiative to the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, stating a massive accumulation of Bitcoin will play a similar role in strengthening the value of the US dollar.  In addition, she proposes that these assets could be critical in offsetting the national debt which currently stands at a staggering $35 trillion. 

Interestingly, US senators have now received 2,200 letters from constituents requesting that they co-sponsor Lummis’ “Strategic Bitcoin  Reserve Bill” in the last three days. The Democrat legislators received the most letters at 1,333 while Republicans and Independents received 850 and 41 letters respectively. 

As of today, Lummis’s latest Bill has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs which will conduct a comprehensive review of the proposed legislation while consulting with relevant experts on the matter.  If the bill is approved by the Committee, it is returned back to the Senate floor where debate and amendments will occur before voting occurs. Thereafter, the bill passes through the US House of Representatives before being submitted to the President for approval.

Crypto Market Overview

According to data from CoinMarketCap, the total crypto market is currently valued at around $2.15 trillion following a 0.84% decline in the past day. Multiple economic and market developments have exerted significant selling pressure on digital assets in the last week, with Bitcoin notably dipping by over 11% within this time frame. 

Nevertheless, the crypto industry remains a major point of attention in the US political scene. Aside from Lummis’s audacious “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill”, Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump’s public support of the digital asset space has potentially brought about a policy war that may force other nominees including Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to engage positively with the nascent industry which contains 20% of the voting population in US.

Featured image from Britannica, chart from Tradingview