"The U.S. will be the BITCOIN Superpower of the WORLD!" | Bitcoin News by CoinCorner

Transcript

It's happened. The US have officially established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, as well as declaring they plan to buy more. US banking regulators have taken a swift U-turn in their hostility towards Bitcoin, as banks will now be able to offer crypto-related services. And Michael Saylor's company, Strategy, has unveiled a plan to raise an additional $21 billion to buy yet more Bitcoin.

Welcome back to Bitcoin News, brought to you by CoinCorner. I'm your host, Alex Glasse. Now, let's get straight into this week's top stories.

Now, despite it being a week full of bullish news, the price is still taking a beating. After the recent sell-off through the start of the week, Bitcoin's price had fallen by around 11% to lows of around $76,000 - quite the drop from all-time highs of $109,000, which equates to around a 30% drawdown.

You may be wondering what's causing all of this. Well, many suggest it's due to Trump's ongoing tariff wars, which are creating a lot of uncertainty across financial markets - and not just Bitcoin. Some suggest this could all just be a tactic by Trump to try and force the Fed into lowering interest rates, which would typically be positive for risk assets like Bitcoin. But it all remains to be seen.

Now, looking past the price - for our first story, it really doesn't get much more bullish than this. Last week, Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the US government. The EO, in most bitcoiners' eyes, could not have been a better outcome. It goes into detail about how Bitcoin has a fixed supply and can be viewed much like digital gold. It clarifies that the government's Bitcoin, deposited into the Strategic Reserve, shall not be sold and shall be maintained as a reserve asset. They will also develop strategies for acquiring additional government Bitcoin - providing that these strategies are budget neutral and do not impose incremental costs to the US taxpayer.

So, in simple terms: they're agreeing to not sell any of their existing Bitcoin, and they're exploring ways to purchase more.

Now, although there were concerns by bitcoiners that other digital assets may make it into the reserve, the EO has completely separated the treatment of Bitcoin and other crypto assets. The government is establishing a separate digital assets stockpile, which will receive different treatment. First, they will not be looking to acquire any additional stockpile assets, and there will be no restrictions on selling these tokens either.

So overall - credit where credit's due - Trump and his team, despite the concerns, have delivered on his promise to the Bitcoin community. And I think most will be delighted with the outcome.

Now, following this monumental announcement, on Friday Trump also held the very first Crypto Summit at the White House. At this roundtable event, industry leaders within Bitcoin and crypto engaged in discussions of how they can best enact Trump's vision of making America the Bitcoin superpower of the world.

Also building off this momentum, Senator Cynthia Lummis has reintroduced a bill in the US Senate that would authorise the government to purchase 1 million additional Bitcoin for the country. The act would obligate the US government to purchase 1 million Bitcoin over a five-year period, which today is currently worth around $80 billion. The bill states the establishment of a decentralised network of secure Bitcoin storage facilities, distributed across the United States to protect the coins in cold storage.

It also says that all new Bitcoin added to the programme would have to be held for at least 20 years before it could be sold, and any current or future Treasury Secretary would be prohibited from selling off more than 10% of the reserves during any two-year period.

This huge expenditure would be funded in part by net earnings of the Fed, but also through revaluing the existing gold holdings to reflect current market prices. The difference in the spread would then be used to fund the Bitcoin purchases.

Ambitious as it sounds, this bill - if it gets passed - could be absolutely game-changing.

More hugely bullish news for the Bitcoin industry in the States is that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, has declared that banks can now provide crypto-related services. This announcement from the US national bank regulator signals a significant shift in their stance towards crypto. They have now removed key barriers making it difficult for institutions to engage in the industry, and now banks will be able to provide services including custody, stablecoin reserves, and blockchain participation - without requiring any special approval.

Also in the news: the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder, Strategy, have announced new plans to raise up to $21 billion to purchase more Bitcoin. The new ATM programme will allow the firm to issue and sell shares of its perpetual strike preferred stock to raise funds for corporate purposes - which obviously include purchasing Bitcoin.

This comes following a similar capital raise back in October last year, where they announced plans to raise $42 billion. Despite the recent volatility and price decline of Bitcoin, this announcement demonstrates Strategy's continued conviction in the asset - and it seems owning 2.4% of the entire supply isn't good enough for them, and they want to buy more.

Now, the latest public company to add Bitcoin to their balance sheet is the video-sharing platform Rumble, who have made their first investment of $17 million. The purchase of 188 Bitcoin is the first move in Rumble's previously disclosed plan to adopt Bitcoin as a treasury asset, where they will allocate up to $20 million of their cash reserves.

CEO Chris Pavlovski said these holdings have the potential to serve as a valuable hedge against inflation and will not be subject to dilution like many overprinted, government-issued currencies.

Now, for our final story - California legislators have endorsed bitcoiner Dom Bei for a seat at the board of a $500 billion pension fund for public sector employees. Bei founded Proof of Workforce, a non-profit providing Bitcoin education to workers, unions, and pension funds. If elected, he would be the first openly pro-Bitcoin voice on the 13-member board.

The fund currently operates with a traditional 60/40 portfolio allocated into equities and fixed income, but Bei's credentials could resonate with California's public workforce seeking new strategies to protect their retirement pots from inflation and ongoing currency debasement.

But I'm afraid that is all we have for you today - so, as always, make sure to hit that subscribe button down below, and I'll see you next week with more Bitcoin News.