Senator Lummis’ new BITCOIN Act allows US reserve to exceed 1M Bitcoin

US Senator Cynthia Lummis’ newly reintroduced BITCOIN Act will allow the government to potentially hold more than 1 million Bitcoin as part of its newly established reserve.

The bill, first introduced in July, directs the US government to buy 200,000 Bitcoin (BTC) a year over five years for a total acquisition of 1 million Bitcoin, which would be paid for by diversifying existing funds within the Federal Reserve system and the Treasury department. 

However, the reintroduced act, the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act of 2025, opens the door for the US to acquire and hold in excess of 1 million BTC as long as it is acquired through lawful means other than direct purchase, such as civil or criminal forfeitures, gifts made to the US or transfers from federal agencies.

Proud to re-introduce the BITCOIN Act. Let’s secure America’s financial future.pic.twitter.com/jJFmMopP7h

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) March 11, 2025

The extra Bitcoin can also come from US states that voluntarily store their Bitcoin holdings in the strategic Bitcoin reserve, though it’ll be stored in a segregated account. 

“By transforming the president’s visionary executive action into enduring law, we can ensure that our nation will harness the full potential of digital innovation to address our national debt while maintaining our competitive edge in the global economy,” said Lummis, who announced the revamped bill during a March 11 conference hosted by The Bitcoin Policy Institute. 

Lummis taps new bill co-sponsors

The BITCOIN Act also has a number of new co-sponsors, including Republican Senators Jim Justice, Tommy Tuberville, Roger Marshall, Marsha Blackburn and Bernie Moreno. 

“I’m proud to join Senator Lummis on this common-sense bill to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve and codify President Trump’s executive order,” Justice said in a statement. 

“This bill represents America’s continued leadership in financial innovation, bolsters both our economic security, and gives us an opportunity to wrangle in our soaring national debt,” he added. 

Other changes

The bill also now sets a formal evaluation process for Bitcoin forked assets and airdropped assets in the reserve. 

Initially, the bill required all forked assets to be stored in the reserve and couldn’t be sold or disposed of for five years unless authorized by law. 

Related: Texas Senate passes Bitcoin reserve bill, New York targets memecoin rug pulls: Law Decoded

The new bill now directs the Secretary after the mandatory holding period to evaluate and retain the most valuable asset based on market capitalization while retaining the “dominant asset.” 

Bitcoin has hard forked a number of times in the past to create new cryptocurrencies, most notably Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which forked on Aug. 1, 2017, and Bitcoin Gold (BTG), which forked on Oct. 24, 2017. 

Lummis’ reintroduced bill comes just days after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and a “Digital Asset Stockpile.”

The reserve and stockpile will initially use cryptocurrency forfeited in government criminal and civil cases, but the reserve won’t sell the stashed Bitcoin and will use “budget-neutral” ways to increase its size, while tokens from the stockpile could be sold.

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