US Government Could Hold Bitcoin as Reserve Asset, Diam CEO ExplainsBryan Courchesne, CEO and founder of crypto investing firm Daim, has shared insights regarding how the U.S. government could start holding bitcoin as strategic reserve asset. “The Justice Department holds about 200,000 units of bitcoin so the United States is the largest holder of bitcoin, and so they could easily just move that over to the Department of Treasury and start right there and have $13 billion worth of bitcoin on the balance sheet,” he described.Bitcoin Prices Surge as Trump Engages With Crypto IndustryBryan Courchesne, CEO and founder of crypto investing firm Daim, shared his insights on CNBC’s Fast Money last week regarding bitcoin prices rising amid the Trump campaign’s increasing engagement with the crypto industry. He also discussed how the U.S. government could start holding BTC as reserve asset. Former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to headline the crypto industry’s annual conference in Nashville next week.
“About a month ago Trump went, met with some of the bitcoin miners,” Courchesne said, adding:
We think he really got educated on the space. He got educated on how the inner workings happen, about blockchain, and how transactions are verified.
The executive anticipates that Trump’s upcoming conference speech will address smoothing out crypto regulations. “There’s been a lot of headwinds in the space, a lot of those came from [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair] Gary Gensler. There’s been a lot of roadblocks, and you’re going to see him [Trump] come out and say: ‘Hey, let’s help innovation here. Let’s help bitcoin and blockchain progress.’ So yeah, he’s going to speak very positively about bitcoin here at the conference.”
How US Government Could Hold Bitcoin as Reserve AssetWhen asked if Trump’s favorable crypto stance might extend to considering bitcoin as strategic reserve asset for the U.S., Courchesne acknowledged: “There were some rumblings of that on X this week. It could be something that’s very difficult to get done but it is possible.”
He explained: “The Justice Department holds about 200,000 units of bitcoin so the United States is the largest holder of bitcoin, and so they could easily just move that over to the Department of Treasury and start right there and have $13 billion worth of bitcoin on the balance sheet. So it is a possible move, it just could be tough to get done,” he clarified. “But what happens is the Justice Department is holding these units of bitcoin. They’ve been a random seller in the space,” he noted, adding:
So if they move from being a random seller at times, which could push the price of bitcoin down, over to being a long-term hodler, that could be really good for the space and push prices up.
Trump and Bitcoin MiningRegarding Trump’s support for bitcoin mining and the desire to have all new bitcoins mined in the U.S., Courchesne said: “Bitcoin mining: it moves around quickly to the place where it could find the cheapest energy. At times, it’s Texas and it’s moved to New York and it’s moved to Wyoming and it goes back to Texas. So it really depends on striking these energy deals.” He emphasized:
In a pro-business environment, if Trump is able to lower these energy costs for these miners, these miners will then be able to hold more bitcoin on their balance sheet, further reducing the supply that’s available to acquire on open exchanges of bitcoin, and that could further reinforce the price and help it go up higher.
Courchesne concluded: “It would be impossible to mine all bitcoin in the United States. It’s great that he’s saying it … and it really will help innovation. It’s just too hard to do. There’s a wide diversification of miners. They’re spread all across the world, and it really goes to where is energy the cheapest. And if you could even put free energy here, another country will give incentives to have bitcoins mined in their country. It’s just something that won’t get done. 100% of the bitcoins mined in the United States won’t happen, but more of it happening here by many different companies is always better for the space.”
Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/us-government-could-hold-bitcoin-as-reserve-asset-diam-ceo-explains/