- Trump vows to keep 100% of U.S. government-held bitcoin
- Senator Lummis proposes the purchase of 1M bitcoin, while RFK Jr. suggests 4M
- U.S. government holds $11.1 billion BTC from criminal seizures
Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, addressed an enthusiastic audience to hold on to their Bitcoin at all costs. The presidential candidate’s latest campaign centered on cryptocurrency with a particular emphasis on establishing a state Bitcoin reserve. Trump claimed,
“If elected, it will be the policy of my administration to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires in the future.”
Trump added that the funds would serve as the “core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile.”
Earlier, he shared insights on reducing the U.S. national debt of $35 trillion using Bitcoin. In the interview, Trump doubled down on his goal to put the United States at the forefront of digital asset growth.
However, the former president is not the only one proposing such measures. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced legislation allowing the U.S. government to purchase one million bitcoins, around 5% of the total supply. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested a government stockpile of four million bitcoins.
At present, the U.S. government holds 203,239 Bitcoin tokens, worth around $11.1 billion. This amounts to about 1% of the global bitcoin supply, which stands at about 19.7 million tokens, according to Blockchain.com.
The majority of this cache, according to Arkham Intelligence, came through criminal seizures, including from the online darknet Silk Road, which was dismantled in 2013. On the other hand, non-state investors like Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy hold about 226,500 bitcoin tokens. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust hold 344,070 and 240,140 tokens, respectively, per Bitcoin Treasuries.
Market experts believe that a government bitcoin stockpile could positively impact bitcoin’s price. However, he warns that excess reserves might reduce the number of tokens available for trading, potentially leaving investors exposed to market volatility if the government ever sold part of its reserves.
As Trump, Lummis, and Kennedy propose significant government bitcoin reserves, the crypto community is split on the potential impact. While some see it as a price booster and validation, others worry about reduced trading tokens and increased government control. The increasing political focus on digital assets highlights their growing importance in modern finance.
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