- Senator Warren Davidson proposed paying taxes with Bitcoin.
- It would boost national competitiveness in the race to stockpile the cryptocurrency.
- It’s yet another way to increase the reserve without spending taxpayer money.
Republican House Representative Warren Davidson introduced a new bill to keep adding to the US $16 billion Bitcoin reserve.
Called the Bitcoin for America Act, Davidson proposed allowing US citizens to pay their federal income taxes in Bitcoin, with the proceeds deposited directly into the country’s crypto coffers.
“By allowing taxpayers to pay federal taxes in Bitcoin and having the proceeds placed into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, the nation will benefit by having a tangible asset that appreciates in value over time,” the Ohio Representative said on Thursday.
The bill, which has yet to be referred to a relevant subcommittee for discussion of its merits, is the latest in efforts to revive interest in a national reserve for the $1.6 trillion cryptocurrency.
The US Bitcoin Reserve has been top of mind since President Donald Trump took office in January — but it’s yet to materialise in the way many supporters had hoped.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump announced in Nashville, Tennessee, that his administration would turn the country into a “crypto superpower.”
“If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the Bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires into the future,” he said.
Since then, the rhetoric regarding how the government would accumulate additional Bitcoin has cooled.
Budget-neural Bitcoin buys
On March 6, the administration began curbing market enthusiasm in an executive order.
The order explained that the government would not sell Bitcoin, and the reserve would be capitalised with Bitcoin seized during criminal and civil proceedings.
As for buying more Bitcoin, the Secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce were authorised to develop means to acquire more Bitcoin without impacting the national budget or taxpayer funds.
They did not authorise the purchase of Bitcoin on the open market.
Bo Hines, the former executive director of Trump’s crypto council, posited that the country could convert some of its $600 billion in gold holdings into Bitcoin.
Hines also floated the idea of using revenues generated by the administration’s bellicose tariff regime to buy more Bitcoin.
Neither idea materialised, and Hines joined stablecoin issuer Tether in August to head the company’s expansion in the US.
Now, Representative Davidson is trying his hand at boosting a Bitcoin Reserve again. It’s not just to protect value from a declining dollar, either.
“Other nations — including but not limited to China, Russia, and emerging economies — actively acquire Bitcoin to diversify their reserves and hedge against global financial instability, such that the United States risks falling behind in this strategic race,” the bill reads.
Liam Kelly is DL News’ Berlin-based DeFi correspondent. Have a tip? Get in touch at liam@dlnews.com.
