The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies' Economic Development Committee recently submitted a bill to replace RESBit (Strategic Sovereign Bitcoin Reserve), which significantly expands the original PL 4501/2024 bill. The bill proposes to accumulate at least 1 million bitcoins (BTC) as a national strategic reserve asset within 5 years through planned and gradual acquisitions.
Background and Proposal Process of the Bill
The proposal originated from the original bill PL 4501/2024, introduced by Representative Eros Biondini in November 2024, which initially suggested including Bitcoin in the national reserves, capped at 5% of foreign exchange reserves. After review by the Economic Development Committee, with Representative Luiz Gastão serving as rapporteur, an alternative bill was submitted in February 2026, significantly increasing the target size.
The alternative bill has been officially published on the website of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies and is currently in the committee stage. It needs further debate and voting, and must also be submitted to the full Chamber, the Senate, and the President for signature before it can become law.
Core content and main terms
The core objective of this alternative plan is to establish a BTC reserve, with an estimated goal of accumulating at least 1 million Bitcoins within 5 years. Based on the current Bitcoin market price (approximately $68,000), this would require an investment of approximately $68 billion.
Other key terms include:
- The sale of Bitcoin seized by judicial authorities is prohibited, reinforcing the incentive for long-term holding.
- Allowing the use of Bitcoin to pay federal taxes increases practical application.
- Provide tax incentives or other support for Bitcoin mining and holding companies.
- It emphasizes users' self-custody rights and freedom of transfer, protecting the rights and interests of digital asset holders.
- This may involve a capital gains tax exemption, demonstrating a regulatory attitude friendly to cryptocurrencies.
- Reserve management has been transferred to the Ministry of Finance, and security technologies such as cold wallets and multi-signatures are being used to ensure transparency and prevent risks.
Potential Impacts and Global Context
If the bill passes, Brazil is expected to take a leading position in the global trend of "national cryptocurrency hoarding," surpassing the current holdings of the US government and countries like China. At the same time, this could also spur more emerging market countries to follow suit, forming a global wave of national Bitcoin reserves.
For the Bitcoin market, gradually buying 1 million Bitcoins over 5 years will not only bring huge buying pressure to Bitcoin, but also reduce the circulating supply, which will help support the price of Bitcoin in the long run.
However, achieving this vision still faces challenges: funding needs to come from foreign exchange reserves or a new budget; current central bank regulations do not recognize Bitcoin as a reserve asset; and significant political consensus and regulatory hurdles remain. Therefore, some analysts point out that the chances of Brazil fully achieving this goal in the short term are not high, and even partial progress may be highly symbolic.
