Florida Man Calls For Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to Happen

Today, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, in a letter to SBA's Executive Director Chris Spencer, emphasized Florida's financial stability and forward-looking stance, positioning the state as a major player in the cryptocurrency arena alongside Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arizona.

Earlier this year, at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis unveiled a groundbreaking bill titled the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” bill. The bill aims to propel the U.S. to the forefront of digital asset integration and bolster the nation’s economic resilience.

Lummis’s proposal calls for the U.S. government to spearhead a large-scale Bitcoin acquisition, aiming to purchase 5% of the global Bitcoin supply and retaining it for at least twenty years. This move is part of a broader plan to curb the nation’s escalating debt.

In her keynote speech, Lummis outlined an ambitious five-year acquisition plan targeting one million Bitcoin. At the current rate of $68,105 per Bitcoin, this purchase would represent a $68.1 billion investment. Initial funding would include 210,000 Bitcoin, previously suggested by former President Donald Trump, to be secured across multiple U.S. vaults.

“We’ve got the money,” Lummis asserted, emphasizing the need to shift government funds from depreciating U.S. dollars into an asset with growth potential like Bitcoin. Her speech closed with a powerful comparison, describing this move as America’s modern “Louisiana Purchase.”

Now, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has called for the creation of a Bitcoin-backed pension fund in a letter to SBA’s Executive Director Chris Spencer. The letter highlights Florida’s financial stability and forward-looking stance on cryptocurrency.

Highlighting Florida’s economic strength, Patronis stated, “Our state holds a Triple A bond rating for the fifth consecutive year, boasts record reserves, and outpaces national economic benchmarks.” He added that if Florida were a sovereign nation, it would rank as the 16th largest economy in the world, showcasing the state’s capacity for pioneering new financial strategies.

The proposal aligns with recent comments made by former President Trump at the Bitcoin 2024 convention, where he suggested a national cryptocurrency reserve funded by seized digital assets. Patronis hailed Trump’s proposal as “innovative thinking from a successful businessman” and argued that it would enhance the U.S.’s standing in the global crypto space.

Furthermore, the letter reflects Governor Ron DeSantis’s anti-Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) stance. Patronis echoed DeSantis’s view of crypto as “the antithesis of a centralized currency,” highlighting decentralized digital assets like Bitcoin as a countermeasure against “globalist efforts to implement a global digital currency.”

Senator Lummis’s bill aims to integrate cryptocurrency into U.S. economic policy, bolstering the nation’s economic resilience, and ensuring global financial leadership. The bill proposes the creation of a government-owned Bitcoin reserve, aiming to safeguard the U.S. dollar from inflation.

Lummis stated that the bill’s goal is to strengthen the U.S. dollar against inflation and maintain the nation’s standing as the world’s reserve currency. “By establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, we’re ensuring the dollar’s relevance as the world’s reserve currency well into the 21st century, while positioning the U.S. as a leader in financial innovation,” Lummis explained.

The proposal envisions a Bitcoin reserve managed through secure, decentralized vaults by the Treasury Department, adhering to rigorous physical and cybersecurity standards. The bill also upholds the right to self-custody for private Bitcoin holders, ensuring that the reserve does not infringe on individual financial freedoms.

The financing for this project would redirect funds within the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department, with the reserve specifically restricted to debt repayment over the next two decades.

Crucially, Lummis’s bold announcement follows former President Trump’s commitment to making the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world” and comes in response to President Biden’s proposed tax on Bitcoin mining energy consumption, which she criticized in her report, “Powering Down Progress: Why A Bitcoin Mining Tax Hurts America.”

Serving on key Senate committees for banking, commerce, and environment, Lummis is a strong advocate for digital assets, lands, and energy issues. Her “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” bill marks a significant move toward integrating cryptocurrency into U.S. economic policy, signaling a potential new chapter for America’s fiscal future.

In a bid to integrate digital assets into Florida’s pension fund portfolio, Patronis proposed that the SBA’s Florida Growth Fund could expand its horizons beyond emerging investments within the state by including Bitcoin in the pension fund.

Describing Bitcoin as “digital gold,” Patronis highlighted its potential to act as a hedge, providing stability amidst fluctuations in traditional markets. He pointed out that other states are moving toward similar crypto adoption models, with Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arizona integrating digital assets into their investment approaches. Meanwhile, Wyoming and Nebraska have created legislative frameworks to attract crypto enterprises, including crypto banking.

In closing, Patronis requested a feasibility

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