House Bill to Establish Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve Features a Key Distinction

On Friday, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) presented a bill in the House of Representatives aimed at solidifying President Donald Trump’s proposed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve—though this legislation significantly differs from the one introduced in the Senate earlier this week.

In contrast to the Bitcoin Act introduced by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) on Tuesday, which proposes that the U.S. government invest approximately $80 billion in Bitcoin, Donalds’ Reserve and Stockpile Act does not mandate a specific BTC purchase amount.

Instead, the proposed legislation, which is just over a page long, aims to formally establish Trump’s recent executive order that called for the development of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve alongside a separate Digital Asset Stockpile.

“For years, Democrats have attacked crypto,” Donalds stated in a comment sent to Decrypt. “Now is the moment for Republican members of Congress to decisively end this conflict.”

Donalds further reiterated the language found in Trump’s executive order, which specifies that both the Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile should be initially funded through assets seized during criminal or civil proceedings. His bill would also empower the U.S. Treasury Secretary and Commerce Secretary to acquire additional Bitcoin for a federal reserve if such purchases are “budget neutral,” as outlined in the statement, despite the absence of such stipulation in the bill.

Recently, White House representatives have utilized similar terminology regarding potential Bitcoin purchases by the federal government, which is currently estimated to hold nearly 200,000 BTC obtained through civil and criminal asset forfeitures.

Whether Sen. Lummis’ ambitious Bitcoin Act is truly budget neutral remains up for debate. Should it become law, the bill would lead to the U.S. government purchasing billions of dollars worth of BTC, primarily through a reevaluation of the Federal Reserve’s Nixon-era gold certificates at current prices, using the proceeds from that increase to acquire more of the leading cryptocurrency.

Earlier this week, during a private roundtable, Decrypt reported that Bo Hines, executive director of the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets, informed crypto leaders that the Trump administration aims to acquire as much Bitcoin as possible. During the same meeting, Hines indicated to Sen. Lummis that the White House intends to endorse legislation aimed at codifying a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and will exert efforts to ensure its passage through Congress, as conveyed by attendees of the meeting.

While several attendees relayed to Decrypt that they perceived this message as a signal of White House support for Lummis’ Bitcoin Act, a White House representative clarified to Decrypt on Thursday that Hines did not endorse any particular piece of legislation during the discussion.

The bill introduced by Donalds on Friday—a staunch Trump supporter—might provide the White House with a less contentious path to establishing a legal framework for its Bitcoin reserve. While it may not require the U.S. government to begin purchasing billions of dollars in BTC, the simplicity of this approach could render the legislation more appealing, given the current debates surrounding government expenditure.