This article is also available in Spanish.
With Bitcoin’s price hovering just below its former high on December 17, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis and Eric Trump reportedly gathered on Capitol Hill yesterday to discuss the concept of establishing a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis broke the news, and Swan, a cryptocurrency-focused platform, took notice of Eric Trump’s now-deleted retweet about the meeting.
Almost immediately after Eric Trump retweeted Swan’s post referring to conversations with Senator Lummis about SBR, he deleted it without explanation. “What’s going on behind the scenes?” Swan asked in a follow-up tweet, suggesting that the quick removal may indicate high-level caution, perhaps to avoid getting ahead of the official announcement.
DEVELOPMENT: Eric Trump RT’d @Swanpost about his meeting with Senator Lummis on American Strategic #Bitcoin Provision and then quickly removed.
What’s going on behind the scenes? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/E7nqbieNIQ
— Swan (@Swan) January 22, 2025
This latest stir follows Senator Lummis’ unveiling last year of the Bitcoin Act of 2024, a legislative proposal to formally establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the US. The bill, officially known as the Enhancing Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investments Across the Nation (BITCOIN) Act, outlines a plan for the U.S. Treasury to acquire 1 million BTC over five years, financed by reallocating existing resources within the Federal Reserve System and the Department Treasure.
While there are few details about the legislation’s progress, sources indicate that Lummis’ office is working diligently to navigate the political and logistical complexities involved. Notably, Senator Lummis also met with former President Donald Trump over the weekend. Senator John Barrasso revealed via X: “Senator Lummis and I had a great time speaking with President Donald Trump this morning. Wyoming is ready for tomorrow’s inauguration!”
Rumors of Bitcoin reserves intensify with Ulbricht’s pardon
The SBR concept gained up-to-date momentum following President Trump’s pardon of Ross Ulbricht yesterday. Analysts note that during the 2024 conference, Trump presented the idea of transferring BTC seized by law enforcement agencies to national stockpiles. Now that the promise of a pardon has been fulfilled, many in the community are wondering whether the SBR plan could be next on the administration’s agenda.
On the Polymarket forecasting platform, chances the rate of imminent SBR increased from 28% to 44% after news of the pardon was revealed. On Inauguration Day, those odds once reached as high as 59%. They recently dropped back to around 28%, only to rise again after Ulbricht’s firing.
A cryptocurrency analyst known as Bizantine General expressed optimism, posting on X: “The fact that he kept his promise to Ross is IMO a good sign that he intends to continue supporting cryptocurrencies.”
David Bailey, CEO of BTC Inc, who played a key role in turning Trump into a BTC supporter, in addition to speculation, noting: “Today is about Ross, but I’ll share this because I get a lot of questions: I still expect dedicated bitcoin+crypto EOs in the coming days. I don’t know what they say or when exactly they drop. I also fully expect the president to deliver on the SBR within his first 100 days.”
Anthony Pompliano, founder and CEO of Professional Capital Management, posted a similarly confident stance: “If Ross Ulbricht is pardoned, we will definitely receive a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Trump will make history with the stroke of a pen.”
In a separate discussion at the World Economic Forum, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was asked about President Trump’s position on the creation of a US Bitcoin reserve. Armstrong he said: :
“Well, I haven’t talked to him about it specifically, but I think he’s excited about it. I mean, he really wants to be the first president of Bitcoin. I think Cynthia Lummis in the Senate is the person who is leading this legislation around the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. I think it’s a good idea. The United States actually has reserves of many things, gold, oil, I think 27 different rare minerals like palladium and so on. And so, you know, I think the world is moving towards a Bitcoin standard for money. They should definitely last. Any government that holds gold should also hold Bitcoin as a reserve.”
At the time of publication, the BTC price was $105,382.
Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
