the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, in a groundbreaking address at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville’s Music City Center, former President Donald Trump outlined his vision to transform the United States into the “crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world.” Speaking to an enthusiastic, standing-room-only crowd just two weeks after surviving an assassination attempt, Trump pledged to establish the nation’s first strategic Bitcoin stockpile if elected.
Trump’s bold plan marks the first time a presidential candidate from a major political party has made Bitcoin and cryptocurrency a central campaign issue. His appearance at the Bitcoin 2024 conference also made him the first American president to speak at a Bitcoin event.
“If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted, and made in the USA,” Trump declared. “If Bitcoin is going to the moon, as they say, ‘it’s going to the moon,’ I want America to be the nation that leads the way.”
A cornerstone of Trump’s strategy is the creation of the first-ever Strategic National Bitcoin Stockpile. This stockpile would be seeded with approximately 210,000 Bitcoins—valued at about $13 billion—currently held by the federal government through legal law enforcement seizures. Notably, the U.S. government is already one of the largest holders of Bitcoin in the world.
“For too long, our government has violated a cardinal rule that every Bitcoiner knows by heart: never sell your Bitcoin,” Trump stated. “If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration for the United States of America to keep 100% of all the Bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires.”
Despite previously expressing skepticism about Bitcoin, even calling it “a disaster waiting to happen,” Trump pledged on Saturday to be a “pro-Bitcoin president.”
Trump’s plan and his commitment to cryptocurrency mark a significant shift in the political landscape, signaling a new era of government involvement in the burgeoning world of digital currencies. His proposal to establish the United States as a global leader in Bitcoin could have far-reaching implications for the future of the crypto industry and the nation’s economic strategy.
Directly during Bitcoin 2024, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) announced a revolutionary proposal to supercharge the U.S. dollar by establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve to fortify the dollar against rising inflation and cement U.S. leadership in the rapidly evolving global financial system.
“Establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve would firmly secure the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency into the 21st century and ensure we remain the world leader in financial innovation,” said Lummis. “Families across Wyoming and the U.S. are struggling to keep up with soaring inflation rates and record-breaking costs while our national debt reaches unprecedented levels; now more than ever, we need to create a brighter future for generations of Americans by diversifying into Bitcoin and securing our economic future.”
The United States currently maintains strategic reserves in certain hard assets critical to American national security and independence such as gold and petroleum. Establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve to bolster the U.S. dollar with a digital hard asset will secure our nation’s standing as the global financial leader for decades to come. This strategic Bitcoin reserve would be required to hold onto the Bitcoin for 20 years, the only thing it could be used to pay for during that time period is paying down our country’s national debt.
Specifically, the legislation would:
- Establish a decentralized network of secure Bitcoin vaults operated by the United States Department of Treasury with statutory requirements ensuring the highest level of physical and cybersecurity for the nation’s Bitcoin holdings.
- Implement a 1-million-unit Bitcoin purchase program over a set period of time to acquire a total stake of approximately 5% of total Bitcoin supply, mirroring the size and scope of gold reserves held by the United States.
- Be paid for by diversifying existing funds within the Federal Reserve System and Treasury Department.
- Affirm self-custody rights of private Bitcoin holders and emphasize that the strategic Bitcoin reserve shall not infringe upon individual financial freedoms.
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