The focus is on U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis’s proposal for a national “Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.” The recent Bitcoin Nashville conference, where the main discussions revolved around integrating layer-2 networks into the original blockchain. The conference garnered significant attention, partly due to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign speech and Senator Lummis’s proposal.
The event was bustling with activity for four days, featuring various discussions and activities, including Bitcoin LARP. However, details on the Republican calls for a national bitcoin stockpile remain unclear. Trump suggested using the government’s current holdings of over 200,000 BTC as the base for this reserve. In contrast, Lummis proposed an ambitious plan to expand it to 1 million BTC, about 5% of Bitcoin’s total supply. She claimed this could potentially eliminate the national debt, currently at $27 trillion, though she didn’t provide a clear explanation of how this would work.
Social media raised questions about the government’s right to retain the existing bitcoin holdings, which were mostly seized from criminal activities. There was also speculation about Lummis’s statement on converting excess reserves at the 12 Federal Reserve banks into bitcoin over five years, with doubts about the feasibility and legality of such a plan. George Selgin from the Cato Institute mentioned that Lummis’s office clarified the plan involved purchasing $64 billion worth of bitcoin by revaluing the gold in Fort Knox.
CoinDesk obtained a draft bill outlining the plan to revalue Federal Reserve gold certificates and allocate $6 billion from the Federal Reserve’s net earnings over the next five years, despite the Fed’s recent financial losses. The bill also included provisions for handling airdropped tokens. The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board opined that cryptocurrencies should operate independently without government intervention to remain true to their libertarian roots.
The debate intensified following reports that U.S. authorities had moved $2 billion worth of bitcoin linked to the Silk Road seizures. This led to speculation that the Biden administration was trying to dispose of the government’s bitcoin before a potential Trump administration could take control.
The newsletter also includes a photo-blog from the Bitcoin Nashville Conference, capturing the unique and surreal atmosphere of the event, which featured numerous prominent figures in the crypto world, including Cathie Wood, Michael Saylor, Ron Paul, and Donald Trump.
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