30s Summary

Texas lawmakers are reportedly considering creating a Bitcoin reserve, according to the CEO of non-profit Satoshi Action Fund, Dennis Porter. This follows similar proposals for national Bitcoin reserves by Sen. Cynthia Lummis and others as a hedge against national debt and inflation. Porter believes a Bitcoin reserve also protects domestic mining operations against foreign interference. The concept of a Bitcoin reserve has also garnered international interest, with a presidential candidate in Poland committing to create one if elected.

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According to the non-profit organization Satoshi Action Fund (SAF), lawmakers in Texas are discussing the idea of developing a Bitcoin reserve. In a recent talk, SAF’s CEO, Dennis Porter, mentioned that he had chats with a lawmaker who is keen to explore this concept.

The creation of a Bitcoin reserve in Texas, a massive economic power, would be pretty big news. Just to give you an idea, Texas has the world’s eighth-largest economy, with a GDP of $2.4 trillion in 2022.

The US has already seen interest in this sort of thing. For example, Senator Cynthia Lummis launched a proposal earlier this year for a national Bitcoin reserve. If it gets the green light, the country would have a new Bitcoin fund as a safeguard against national debt.

In Pennsylvania, another proposed bill is trying to allow the state treasury to have up to 10% of its balance in Bitcoin. This serves as a shield against inflation.

Porter’s view is that strategic Bitcoin reserves wouldn’t only be handy for guarding against inflation but would also keep Bitcoin mining in the US secure. He points out that Bitcoin mining barely breaks even and it wouldn’t take much for countries like Russia or China to mess with the Bitcoin price long enough to end American Bitcoin mining.

Porter suggests that getting involved in the Bitcoin market would be a good defense strategy against any unwanted influence by foreign players.

He compares a Bitcoin reserve to other critical decisions that helped form modern America, such as the Louisiana Purchase and the purchases of Florida and Alaska.

President-elect Donald Trump promised during his campaign to set up a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile”. Since then, the idea has taken off. Porter is excited about the race to see which state or nation implements the first strategic reserve legislation.

Meanwhile, internationally, there’s growing support for strategic Bitcoin reserves too. In Poland, for example, one of the presidential candidates, Sławomir Mentzen, has pledged to create a Bitcoin reserve if he wins the upcoming election.