US Bitcoin Reserve: Lummis Confirms Treasury Probes Direct BTC Buys

In an interview with Bitcoin commentator Natalie Brunell, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) reaffirmed her commitment to establishing a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), disclosing that the Treasury Department is probing its legal authority to purchase and custody BTC on behalf of the federal government. The senator believes such a move could significantly reduce the national debt over the long term.

Senator Lummis Pushes Bitcoin Reserve

Lummis pointed to roughly 200,000 BTC in the US Marshals Service’s asset forfeiture program as a possible starting point: “Working with Treasury, and the Treasury Secretary, we’re trying to find out which assets among those could become the basis of the first year’s investment in a strategic Bitcoin reserve.”

Further clarifying her stance, the senator noted she is determining whether a new law is required or if the administration already has the authority: “What I’m trying to figure out right now is whether it needs to be done legislatively or whether the Treasury Secretary has the authority to do it right now.”

Lummis proposes converting the seized BTC into an official “base investment,” which she says would be the foundation of a larger BTC reserve. If successful, this would mark the first time the US government deliberately and openly accumulated Bitcoin as a strategic asset.

One of Lummis’ main arguments for a SBR is its capacity to trim the federal debt, which she deems “irresponsibly high.” Under her Bitcoin Act, the US could also revalue its gold certificates—currently listed at a decades-old official price of $42 per ounce, far below market value—and deploy the difference toward purchasing BTC in a budget neutral way:

“My legislation would provide that we could take our gold certificates… bring them up to current fair market value for gold and then use that to buy Bitcoin, thereby creating a 1 million Bitcoin reserve over five years.”

She contends that holding this million BTC over a 20-year horizon could “cut the current national debt in half.” Citing extensive modeling—some from advocates like Michael Saylor—she believes the price appreciation of BTC has the potential to deliver significant gains to taxpayers.

New Episode Out Now!

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis is leading the Bitcoin Revolution in Washington.

Her bold plans for America through Bitcoin & digital asset policy promise to reshape the financial system—reduce U.S. debt, protect Bitcoin self-custody, and reinforce dollar… pic.twitter.com/G1Rvl1ORDb

— Natalie Brunell (@natbrunell) April 1, 2025

The senator lauded President Trump’s recent executive orders that aim to make the United States “the digital asset capital of the world” by fostering a favorable environment for BTC mining, regulatory clarity, and a strategic reserve. According to Lummis, those moves stand in stark contrast to prior administrations, where “people neither knew nor wanted to talk about digital assets.”

However, Lummis also underscored the need for bipartisan collaboration, suggesting that while Bitcoin has now garnered interest in Republican circles, it should not become a strictly partisan endeavor: “We want to keep that momentum… We worked extremely hard to keep it bipartisan, so I can’t flip my brain and start to think of it as a partisan issue.”

At press time, BTC traded at $84,202.