KEY POINTS
- Lummis first announced the plan during the Bitcoin Conference 2024
- She also donned laser eyes, seemingly a tribute to the Bitcoiner community
- Samson Mow suggested that the government should act fast if it wants to have a $BTC reserve
- Druid recommended not having placing reserve Bitcoins under the custody of asset management firms
Donald Trump's sweeping victory in the U.S. elections has led to widespread celebrations across the cryptocurrency community, and many were particularly drawn to Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming's post regarding Bitcoin.
Lummis is known for her announcement of the "Bitcoin Reserve Bill" during the Bitcoin Conference earlier this year, which includes a proposal for the government to invest in BTC as a means of helping pay off the country's multi-trillion-dollar debt.
Lummis Dons Laser Eyes
After the Republican presidential nominee secured the 270 electoral votes needed for the presidency, Lummis took to X with a photo of herself donning the Bitcoin community's popular laser eyes.
The future is ₿right pic.twitter.com/KM956H9Ezq
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) November 6, 2024
Bitcoin holders use the laser eyes to identify themselves as users of the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value and also to push the digital asset's price up through community engagement. "The future is bright," she captioned the photo.
The Road to a $BTC Strategic Reserve
About an hour after posting the laser eyes meme photo, Lummis made the big announcement: "We are going to build a strategic Bitcoin reserve," she wrote.
WE ARE GOING TO BUILD A STRATEGIC BITCOIN RESERVE 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) November 6, 2024
If Lummis's statements during the BTC Conference are to go by, the United States will "convert excess reserves at our 12 federal reserve Banks into Bitcoin over five years." She noted that the said strategy should help "cut our debt in half by 2045." The U.S. has a staggering $35 trillion debt.
Crypto Figures React: Act Fast, Don't Get a Custodian
For former Blockstream executive Samson Mow, it is best to start acting fast. "The difference between acquiring Bitcoin below $0.1M vs $0.5M will have massive geopolitical ramifications," he said.
Onramp Bitcoin co-founder Jesse Myers said it is the "greatest service" for any elected official to support a strategic BTC reserve, while hedge fund manager James Lavish offered his expertise in helping establish the necessary foundations of the reserve.
Information security researcher Dustin D. Trammell, who goes by druid in the crypto space, also offered his expertise. However, he recommended that the Bitcoin "needs to be self-custodied multi-sig, not held with some s****y custodian like the ETFs (exchange-traded funds) are doing."
I can assist if you'd like (: This definitely needs to be self-custodied multi-sig, not held with some shitty custodian like the ETFs are doing.
— I)ruid (@druidian) November 6, 2024
What is a National Strategic Reserve?
A country's strategic reserve is usually a stockpile of specific assets or even materials that it can unlock in the event of unexpected circumstances. For instance, a strategic reserve can be a stockpile of food, medication, gemstones or similar precious stones.
While food and water stocks can help the government manage natural disasters, while stockpiles of medication can help during times of war.
It is unclear how the U.S. under Trump will helm a strategic Bitcoin reserve, but if it follows in the footsteps of El Salvador, it can be a daily purchase of BTC.
Trump previously said he will make the government "hodl" all of its existing Bitcoin. The U.S. has billions worth of seized BTC, but in recent months, some of the digital coins have been moved out of some wallets tagged by Arkham Intelligence as belonging to the U.S. government.
