Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the US will not purchase Bitcoin (BTC) to build its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). Instead, it will rely solely on assets from legal seizures. This approach has sparked criticism for potentially limiting reserve growth.
As the debate in Washington shifts to how the country might still strengthen its position in the global crypto race, Senator Cynthia Lummis has a plan.
Cynthia Lummis Pushes Gold Revaluation Plan to Fast-Track US Bitcoin Dominance
Lummis, a long-time pro-Bitcoin lawmaker from Wyoming, is pushing the BITCOIN Act to tie gold revaluation to a budget-neutral pathway for expanding the SBR.
“Scott Bessent is right: a budget-neutral path to building SBR is the way. We cannot save our country from $37 trillion debt by purchasing more Bitcoin, but we can revalue gold reserves to today’s prices and transfer the increase in value to build SBR. America needs the BITCOIN Act,” she articulated.
Her comments came in response to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent said forfeited Bitcoin, already in federal custody, would serve as the foundation for the reserve established under President Trump’s March Executive Order.
“Treasury is committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve, and to execute on the President’s promise to make the United States the ‘Bitcoin superpower of the world,’” Bessent posted.
While the federal government holds billions of dollars’ worth of seized Bitcoin, on-chain data suggests only about 15% of these assets have been legally forfeited.
The remainder could be subject to court rulings, creditor claims, or returned to private owners. These constrictions make them ineligible for the reserve.
It creates a structural challenge, as legal processes bottleneck the reserve’s growth. This is in contrast to a lack of BTC in government custody.
Lummis’ gold-revaluation plan aims to sidestep that problem. Updating the value of America’s gold holdings to current market prices could unlock hundreds of billions of dollars on paper.
The Treasury could transfer that surplus value into Bitcoin without adding to the national debt. Theoretically, this would not require tax hikes, spending cuts, or new borrowing.
The Wyoming Senator’s post signals her readiness to translate the idea into legislation. She also demonstrated interest in working with Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Together, they could identify budget-neutral ways to continue growing the nation’s Bitcoin reserve and potentially outpace peers in the race.
The proposal intensifies speculation about America’s long-term crypto strategy. Relying on seized Bitcoin creates perverse incentives to expand asset forfeiture powers, but it may also be a pragmatic way to accumulate BTC without taxpayer expense.
If enacted, the BITCOIN Act could mark the first time in modern US history that gold revaluation funds strategic cryptocurrency holdings. This would be a symbolic and financial pivot toward positioning the US as the world’s top Bitcoin power.
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Source: https://beincrypto.com/senator-lummis-pushes-gold-revaluation-to-bypass-15-seized-bitcoin-bottleneck/