Author: Sander Lutz Translated by Liam Source: Decrypt

On March 14, Bo Hines, executive director of the President's Digital Assets Working Group, told attendees that the White House intends to acquire as much bitcoin as possible, according to several participants.

A roundtable attendee told Decrypt that when someone asked how much bitcoin the United States might eventually acquire, Hines joked that the question was like asking someone how much money they wanted.

A White House official confirmed to Decrypt that Hines did say he wanted to acquire as much bitcoin as possible, but added that any such acquisition would be conducted "without impacting the budget" and would not allow taxpayers to pay a penny.

After the public "Bitcoin for America" ​​summit, a private roundtable was held, with heavyweights including Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley and Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey. In addition, three U.S. senators were also present: Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). During the roundtable, an attendee asked Beau Hines whether the White House supported the Bitcoin Act, a bill that Loomis re-proposed in the Senate on Tuesday, requiring the United States to buy about $80 billion worth of 1 million bitcoins and to incorporate the strategic Bitcoin reserves proposed by President Donald Trump’s recent executive order into law.

A roundtable attendee said after receiving the question, Hines turned to Loomis, who sat next to him, and said the White House planned to support legislation that would include strategic bitcoin reserves into the law and would put pressure to ensure that legislationPassed in Congress.

A White House official stressed to Decrypt that, however, Hines did not endorse any specific legislation during the event.

The United States currently holds nearly 200,000 BTC, obtained through civil and criminal confiscation. In recent days, senior White House officials have fueled the fire, saying they support buying more bitcoins to support strategic reserves, as long as these acquisitions are "budget-neutral."

It is still controversial whether Loomis's Bitcoin Act is budget neutral. The bill requires the U.S. to buy about $80 billion worth of BTC at its current price, but the plan is implemented mainly by requiring the Federal Reserve to hand over revenue, which, in theory, would generate if the central bank reassess its gold certificates at market prices. The last price of these certificates was in 1971, when the United States abandoned the gold standard. Since then, the value of gold has increased by more than 6,800%.