According to CoinDesk, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has proposed a new strategic reserve for Bitcoin, financed partly by revaluing the Federal Reserve's gold certificates. The draft legislation outlines a 'Bitcoin Purchase Program' that aims to acquire up to 200,000 BTC annually over a five-year period, totaling 1 million BTC.
Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming known for her pro-Bitcoin stance, announced the plan at the Bitcoin Nashville conference. The proposal includes creating a decentralized network of secure Bitcoin storage facilities across the U.S., selected based on risk assessments prioritizing geographic diversity, security, and accessibility.
The draft bill, titled 'Bitcoin Act of 2024,' specifies that the Treasury Secretary would oversee the Bitcoin Purchase Program. The acquired Bitcoin would be held for at least 20 years and could only be sold to pay off federal debt, with a cap of 10% of the assets being sold in any two-year period.
Funding for the Bitcoin purchases would come from several sources. The plan sets aside $6 billion from the Federal Reserve's net earnings remitted to the Treasury from fiscal years 2025 through 2029. It also reduces the discretionary surplus funds of Federal Reserve banks to $2.4 billion from the current $6.825 billion. Additionally, the plan involves revaluing the Federal Reserve banks' gold certificates to their fair market value.
Within six months of the legislation's enactment, Federal Reserve banks would tender all outstanding gold certificates to the Treasury Secretary. New gold certificates reflecting the fair market value of the gold would then be issued, and the Federal Reserve banks would remit the cash value difference to the Treasury Secretary.
