Trump Announces US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Plans
Former President Trump said he would launch a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve if re-elected during a speech at the Bitcoin Conference
By: Zack Guzman
July 27, 2024
Former President Donald Trump announced his plans for a new U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve if he's re-elected at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville on Saturday. He promised that the country would never sell any of the bitcoin it currently holds.
"If I am elected it will be the policy of my administration, the United States of America to keep 100 percent of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future," he said. "This will serve in effect as the core of the strategic national Bitcoin stockpile."
The U.S. government currently holds about $14 billion worth of bitcoin, mostly acquired via Department of Justice seizures. As Fundstrat's Head of Digital Asset Strategy Sean Farrell predicts, delivering on plans to not sell any of the country's existing holdings would be supportive of bitcoin's price. He has a year-end price target of $125,000.
"I think that would be a very exciting proposition for the market," Farrell said Friday before the announcement was official. "It wouldn't be net new buys, but it would take $14 billion of future selling pressure off the market."
Bitcoin had crashed earlier this month in the aftermath of Germany dumping about $3 billion worth of the crypto on the market. The U.S. government wasn't necessarily expected to sell much of its current holdings anytime soon, but Trump's promise to use existing holdings to seed a stockpile is an exciting development — even if it never comes to fruition.
A report from the Financial Times over the weekend signaled that Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking a "reset" with the crypto industry. It's unclear if she will now commit to similar plans for America and Bitcoin.
At the conference in Nashville as Trump wrapped up his speech, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) announced a bill for the U.S. to buy an additional $68 billion in Bitcoin, though obviously that would require approval of Congress.
Bitcoin's price whipsawed after Trump finished his speech, but was mostly unchanged.
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