US lawmaker doubles down on crypto promises after Trump win

In one of her first post-election messages, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis reiterated plans for United States lawmakers to “build a strategic Bitcoin reserve,” presumably when Republicans take a majority control of the Senate in 2025.

In a Nov. 6 X post, Senator Lummis said she intended to move forward with her plans to establish a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. The Wyoming Republican introduced the Bitcoin Act in July for the US government to buy 1 million BTC— roughly 5% of the total supply — and hold it for at least 20 years. 

With Republicans expected to have a majority in the US Senate after flipping three seats on Election Day, Lummis and her colleagues may have the votes needed to carry out the plan. Her proposed bill built upon an idea pitched by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, who suggested the US government not sell any of its seized Bitcoin.

Related: ‘Tone deaf’ — US moves $2B Silk Road BTC after Trump’s stockpile pledge

Lummis has been one of Congress’s most vocal pro-crypto voices since taking office in 2021. She was not up for reelection on Nov. 5 but continued to speak in favor of digital asset policies as Republicans, including Trump, campaigned in 2024 with pro-crypto platforms.

Crypto-backed and pro-crypto candidates win big in US election

Amid major news outlets reporting that Trump and Republicans were projected to win the presidency, majority control of the Senate, and potentially the House of Representatives, the price of BTC surged to more than $76,000. Democrats will remain in control of the Senate until Jan. 3, with President Joe Biden in office until inauguration day on Jan. 20.

Though majority control of the House was not certain at the time of publication, some industry leaders are suggesting Democrats’ performance could have been the result of the party’s position on crypto. Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, one of the party’s anti-crypto voices in Congress, lost his seat to Republican Bernie Moreno.

“Their biggest mistake was antagonizing the entire crypto community,” said startup accelerator Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham in a Nov. 6 X post, addressing the election results for Democrats. “And this was entirely unnecessary; there wasn’t some other constituency they were trying to win points with by doing it.”

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