Brazil has reintroduced a bill to establish a national Bitcoin reserve through its Congress. The project aims to acquire 1 million BTC in five years in a gradual manner. Lawmakers supporting the move argue that it would diversify the nation’s sovereign assets and support long-term financial solvency.
The draft replaces a previous version that allowed restricted exposure through foreign reserves. The scope of the new text shows a systematic accumulation plan. Brazil would have one of the largest Bitcoin holdings in the world if the proposal is approved.
Brazil Scales Up Bitcoin Reserve Strategy
The proposed Strategic Sovereign Bitcoin Reserve is to consider Bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset. According to the lawmakers, the move will help protect the country against inflation and risks of asset confiscation by outside forces.
Expansive digital asset measures were also included in the bill. These consist of incentives for Bitcoin mining firms and regulations that favor long-term deposit of the asset. It also suggests the adoption of Bitcoin as a means of federal tax collection.
According to Deputy Luiz Gastao, the new framework safeguards the rights of digital assets and solidifies the standards of usage and custody for the public.
However, the presentation of the proposal is facing regulatory hurdles prior to implementation. At the moment, the central bank of Brazil does not accept Bitcoin as a reserve asset. Also, the bill still has to go through several congressional committees before it is fully voted.
The political agreement between legislators and central banks is still not certain. Existing rules of running the treasury would have to be modified if the integration of a Bitcoin reserve was to be done.
Brazil Looks To Rival The U.S. And China
The one million Bitcoin reserve target may cost close to $68 billion. This would put Brazil among the top holders of Bitcoin. It could end up surpassing the estimated Bitcoin reserves in the United States and China. According to CoinGecko data, the U.S. government holds more than 328,000 BTC, and China’s holdings are 190,000 BTC.
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis reintroduced the Bitcoin Act, which, if passed, would allow the U.S. to purchase up to 1 million BTC. The Senator said the step was to institutionalize President Trump’s vision to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The bill is still at the introduced phase. No additional steps, including committee hearings, markups, votes, amendments, or passage in either house, have occurred. Nevertheless, Senator Lummis raised concerns about a supposed Bitcoin liquidation that was conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice recently.
However, a response was issued by Patrick Witt, the Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Digital Assets. According to him, the DoJ had not flouted the Executive Order 14233 that requires all forfeited Bitcoin to remain unaltered and unsold.
In a recent controversy concerning Bitcoin reserves, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress officials that the U.S. government is not intending to acquire additional BTC using taxpayer dollars. The government will instead store Bitcoins that have been seized.
Source: https://coingape.com/brazil-targets-1m-btc-strategic-reserve-to-rival-u-s-bitcoin-stockpile/
