United States Senator Cynthia Lummis delivered her highly anticipated address at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville alongside Senator Tim Scott. However, the presentation did not feature the rumored introduction of legislation establishing Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset of the US.
The Wyoming Senator criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission for regulating the industry through enforcement action rather than the rule of law, before shifting her focus back to the government control of money and touting the Republican Party’s revised platform protecting digital asset ownership and custody.
“It’s freedom money. It gives individuals their sovereignty, from the poorest person to Michael Saylor.”
Lummis, a longtime ally of the crypto industry, and Scott also touched on the role the Bitcoin mining industry plays in seeking out novel forms of energy and strengthening the United States’ critical energy infrastructure, a recurring theme at this year’s conference.
No announcement of Bitcoin strategic reserve
In the days leading up to the Bitcoin 2024 conference, the rumor mill was ablaze with speculation that the Wyoming senator would announce legislation enshrining Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
On July 17, 2024, Mark Cuban described a potential scenario in which Bitcoin would become both a strategic reserve asset of the United States and a global reserve currency due to the nation’s geostrategic decline.
Cuban’s speculation was also echoed by asset manager Bryan Courchesne, who argued that while it would be difficult to make Bitcoin a strategic reserve asset in practice, due to regulatory red tape, it is still possible. The analyst encouraged the US government to leverage its vast Bitcoin holdings of roughly 200,000 BTC, which makes the US government the largest known holder of the scarce asset.
However, BlockTower Capital chief investment officer Ari Paul offered a contrasting opinion and predicted that the odds are 10:1 against Bitcoin becoming a strategic reserve asset by 2028.
Creating opportunity zones using Bitcoin
Senator Tim Scott, the future chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, also discussed the possibility of using Bitcoin to create “opportunity zones,” a concept of providing tax-free investment opportunities to developers who build infrastructure in underserved communities.