In an attempt to engage voters interested in cryptocurrencies, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has proposed creating a government reserve if elected.
During a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump revealed during a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville, Tennessee, that his administration's policy will be to hold all $BTC coins currently held or acquired by the U.S. government, with the goal of creating a "strategic national stockpile of #BTC
The concept of a government reserve is not unique to the Trump campaign. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced a bill for the government to buy 1 million t-59s, about 5% of the total supply. Similarly, independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. has proposed a government stockpile of 4 million t-61s.
The United States currently holds about $11.1 billion in cryptocurrency, including 203,239 #BTC coins. This collection, largely amassed from criminal seizures such as the 2013 closure of the Silk Road marketplace, represents about 1% of the global supply of #BTC tokens, which stands at about 19.7 million, according to Blockchain.com.
In comparison to private sector holdings, Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) owns about 226,500 tokens, while BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust own 344,070 and 240,140 tokens, respectively.
However, he also warns that such a reserve could limit the availability of tokens for trading and pose risks if the government decides to sell part of its reserves.
The idea of a national Bitcoin reserve raises many questions about its governance and potential impact. It has been suggested that the Federal Reserve would oversee the reserve for the Treasury Department, similar to the Gold Standard, or it could be organized similarly to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is subject to both presidential and congressional oversight.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the creation of a Bitcoin reserve, the cryptocurrency community recognizes the importance of digital assets becoming a focal point in political campaigns.
There is a general consensus in the industry that digital assets are receiving increasing attention from both political parties, a trend that is expected to continue beyond the November election, notes Raul Mewala, CEO of Mawson Infrastructure Group.
