Trump pushes for 'BTC strategic reserve', Texas lawmakers propose bill in response

Against the backdrop of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's vocal support for Bitcoin, Texas Republican Congressman Giovanni Capriglione, undeterred by criticism, submitted a bill on Thursday proposing the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

On Thursday, Giovanni Capriglione announced during the live broadcast event hosted by the 'Satoshi Act Fund' advocating for BTC mining that he has submitted House Bill 1598. He stated:

I just officially submitted this bill, which aims to establish a BTC reserve within the Texas Department of Finance and regulate the management of relevant cryptocurrencies by state government agencies.

Capriglione said the bill envisions creating a BTC reserve through donations, with a maximum reserve period of 5 years. He specifically mentioned that Texas is the world's 8th largest economy and has sufficient economic strength to drive this project.

Trump promised to establish a strategic reserve of BTC during the campaign and recently publicly expressed support. He emphasized during an interview with CNBC:

We will make extraordinary achievements in the field of cryptocurrency because we do not want China or any other country to take the lead. We hope to be at the forefront of this competition.

Trump is not the only political figure pushing for Bitcoin as a strategic reserve. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming is brewing a bill proposing that the US Treasury buy 1 million BTC within 5 years.

In addition, other states have also begun to push for related bills. For example, Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania introduced a bill in November allowing the state's treasury to invest in BTC, digital assets, and ETP products based on cryptocurrencies.

Despite the BTC Strategic Reserve Plan causing heated discussions in the political world, some economic experts have expressed doubts about it. Bill Dudley, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, recently wrote an article in Bloomberg, stating that this plan may do more harm than good for the United States. He wrote:

What are the benefits for the government and those who do not hold BTC? None at all. This plan lacks a clear exit strategy. On the surface, it may boost the price, but in reality, the government may be forced to hold tokens with extremely high volatility and no returns.

This article was first published in "Blocktimes".