Since Trump was elected president earlier this month, the market has been closely watching whether Trump will fulfill his campaign promise to "incorporate BTC into the US strategic reserve assets". Against this backdrop, according to the latest post by Bitcoin Magazine this morning, Polish presidential candidate Sławomir Mentzen made a pledge:
If elected, I will adopt a strategic BTC reserve.
According to reports, Poland's next presidential election is expected to be held in May 2025. Sławomir Mentzen has been nominated by the Polish right-wing party "Union Party" as the candidate for the 2025 presidential election. Although Mentzen is not one of the most popular candidates, the Union Party obtained about 7.16% of the votes in the Polish parliamentary elections in October 2023, still having a certain influence on the political arena.
JUST IN: 🇵🇱 Polish presidential candidate Sławomir Mentzen pledges to adopt a strategic #Bitcoin reserve if elected. pic.twitter.com/p90NDnbzQb
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) November 17, 2024
The issue of BTC reserves is gradually heating up
It is usually a time-consuming plan for a country to incorporate BTC as a reserve, but the increasing discussion has indeed been brought about since Trump took office. Just last week, Pennsylvania, the key swing state in this election, is considering introducing BTC reserve legislation in the state. Two Republican members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Mike Cabell and Aaron Kaufer, have submitted a new bill called the "Strategic BTC Reserve" to the state House.
If the bill is successfully passed, it will allow the state's Treasury Department to invest up to 10% of the State General Fund, Rainy Day Fund, and State Investment Fund in BTC.
According to the Pennsylvania Treasury report, as of November, its General Fund has over $9.7 billion, and the Rainy Day Fund has about $7 billion. This means that Pennsylvania may potentially invest billions of dollars in the future to establish the state's BTC reserve.
The sponsor of the bill, Mike Cabell, pointed out in the legislative memorandum that the bill will promote BTC as a "hedge against inflation", and is optimistic that BTC can provide stability in times of economic uncertainty.
The Strategic BTC Reserve Bill has been published on the Pennsylvania government website
The BTC Strategic Reserve Bill proposed by Pennsylvania seems to be based on the framework proposed by the BTC advocacy organization "Satoshi Action Fund". The co-founder of the organization, Dennis Porter, tweeted earlier today that the "Strategic BTC Reserve" bill in Pennsylvania has been officially published on the Pennsylvania government website.
BREAKING: Pennsylvania 'Strategic BTC Reserve' bill officially visible on the Pennsylvania website (HB2664) pic.twitter.com/aS3vpelx8T
— Dennis Porter (@Dennis_Porter_) November 16, 2024
Previously, the organization had helped draft the "BTC Rights Act HB 2481" which was just passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in October. It aims to protect the rights of Pennsylvania residents to self-custody digital assets and ensure they can use BTC as a payment method. The bill is expected to be delivered to the Republican-led state Senate for a vote in the coming weeks, and if successfully passed, will be officially signed into law by the state's Governor Josh Shapiro.
Porter is optimistic about the prospects of the two bills, and he stated:
With the unprecedented public support and interest in BTC, we expect both of these bills (BTC Rights and Strategic BTC Reserve) to be passed and signed into law next year.
10 US states are considering establishing BTC reserves
Porter believes that Pennsylvania's Strategic BTC Reserve bill is expected to serve as a model for other states seeking to integrate digital assets into their investment portfolios, and he revealed to Fox Business that his organization is in negotiations with 10 other states to implement similar legislation.
If this bill is passed into law, Pennsylvania will become the first state to directly hold Bit on its balance sheet, marking the first step in the transformation of digital assets playing a greater role in the state government's economic strategy. Michael Saylor is optimistic about the US passing a 5-year bill to buy 1 million BTC At the national level, US Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis proposed a new bill in July to include Bit in the national strategic reserve, requiring the US Treasury to purchase 1 million Bit within five years and hold them for at least 20 years. Although some experts believe the bill has a slim chance of being passed, with Trump's election and the Republican control of both the Senate and the House, Lummis believes the bill has a good chance of being successfully legislated in this Congress. This week, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor said at a crypto event in Miami that it is the "divine destiny" for the US to establish a Bit strategic reserve, similar to the past acquisition of gold and land. He also predicted that Lummis' proposed bill will be passed, becoming the "greatest trade of the 21st century", and estimated that the US will gain up to $16 trillion in economic benefits from this action. He also proposed a bold "Trump Max" scenario, where the US government significantly increases its Bit purchase to a total of 4 million, which could bring an economic return of up to $81 trillion.
