Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Senate Vote, Five New Bills
Weekly Crypto Policy Brief: 2.28-3.7
Good morning and happy Friday. This week's brief covers President Trump’s executive order, a Senate floor vote, and new bills spanning blockchains, debanking, memecoins, CBDCs, and privacy.
Top Points
President Trump signed an executive order to create: (i) a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and (ii) a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.
The Senate voted 70-27 to pass Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) resolution to repeal an IRS rule threatening DeFi in the U.S.
House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced Rep. Darren Soto’s (D-FL) Consumer Safety Technology Act out of committee by voice vote, and Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) joined Rep. Soto in reintroducing the Deploying American Blockchains Act.
Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced a bill to prohibit federal banking agencies from considering “reputational risk” when evaluating a bank’s safety and soundness.
Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) introduced the “MEME Act,” a bill to prohibit senior government officials from benefitting financially from issuing, sponsoring, or promoting certain assets, including memecoins and other digital assets.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Saving Privacy Act, which includes language prohibiting federal regulators from restricting an individual’s ability to transact with digital assets using a self-hosted wallet.
House Rules Committee will meet at 4pm on Monday, March 10 to consider Rep. Mike Carey's resolution to repeal the IRS's DeFi broker rule.
The Week
Strategic Bitcoin Reserve & U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile
On Thursday night, President Trump signed an executive order (the “EO”) to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.
Bitcoin Reserve
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (“SBR”) will be capitalized with bitcoin finally forfeited to the federal government as a result of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. § 3.
In addition, the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce shall develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided the strategies are “budget neutral and do not impose incremental costs on United States taxpayers.” § 3(c).
Bitcoin deposited into the SBR shall not be sold and shall be maintained as a reserve asset. § 3(b). However, Section 3(d) provides certain limited exceptions for release, such as when required by law or when digital assets should be returned to victims of a crime.
Digital Asset Stockpile
Like the SBR, the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile will also be capitalized with digital assets forfeited to the federal government.
But unlike the SBR, the federal government will not acquire additional digital assets outside of those obtained through forfeiture or civil penalties, and Treasury may sell stockpile assets in accordance with strategies developed by the Treasury Secretary for the “responsible stewardship” of the stockpile. §§ 3(b)-(d).
Rationale
Section 1 provides background on why the White House believes this EO is good policy.
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Senate Passes DeFi Broker Rule Repeal Resolution
On Tuesday, the Senate passed Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) resolution to repeal the IRS’s DeFi broker rule by a 70-27 vote. All voting Senate Republicans voted yes. 18 Senate Democrats—including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)—and 1 Independent also voted yes. See Roll Call.
House E&C Advances Blockchain Bill
On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up twelve bills, including Rep. Darren Soto’s (D-FL) Consumer Safety Technology Act (“CSTA”), which passed by voice vote. The CSTA would direct the Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission to study and report to Congress on how blockchain technology could be used to protect consumers, including by mitigating fraud and other deceptive practices. Text. Cosponsors: Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Lori Trahan (D-MA).
Deploying American Blockchains Act
On Wednesday, Reps. Kat Cammack (R-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL) unveiled their “Deploying American Blockchains Act.” The bill aims to promote the deployment, use, application, and competitiveness of blockchain technology in the U.S. by directing the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) serve as the President’s principal advisor on blockchain-related matters, and (2) support U.S. leadership in blockchain technology, blockchain-based apps, tokens, and tokenization. Text.
Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) Intro’s MEME Act
Last week, Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) introduced the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement Act or “MEME Act.” The Meme Act would prohibit senior federal government employees and their families from engaging in or benefitting from a “prohibited financial transaction.” A prohibited financial transaction would include issuing, sponsoring, or promoting certain investment assets—including digital assets, meme coins, coins, tokens, or NFTs—for pecuniary gain. Text; Cosponsors: 18 (all Democrats); Press Release.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) Intro’s FIRM Act
On Thursday, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management Act or FIRM Act. The bill aims to combat politically-motivated debanking by prohibiting federal banking agencies from considering “reputational risk” when evaluating a depository institution’s safety and soundness. Text; Cosponsors: All Senate Banking Republicans.
Please note: This is a free weekly newsletter. If you're looking for more detailed summaries and real-time tracking of legislation, check out the CHC Policy Pro content offerings here.
Look Ahead
Crypto Summit
Friday - 1:30PM-5:30PM: The White House will host a crypto summit convening industry CEOs and senior government officials.
Legislation
DeFi Broker Repeal: House Rules will meet on Monday at 4pm to consider Rep. Mike Carey’s (R-OH) CRA resolution to repeal the DeFi broker rule.
Government Funding Watch: Congress needs to pass a government funding bill by Friday, March 14.
Bitcoin:
It’s time for America to become the first BITCOIN superpower. 
I am working on something ₿ig with @SenLummis
Stay tuned for next Tuesday. @btcpolicyorg
I am working on something ₿ig with @SenLummis
Stay tuned for next Tuesday. @btcpolicyorg
7,947
Hearings
House Financial Services - Tuesday, March 11 - 10AM
Senate Banking
Senate Banking is reportedly considering marking up stablecoin legislation as early as next week.
Once scheduled, the markup will be noticed here.
Quick Hits
Congress
Stablecoins: Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) previewed her criticisms of the Senate GENIUS Act in a floor speech this week, which include concerns Elon Musk could create his own stablecoin.
No CBDC: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) led 100 cosponsors in reintroducing the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
Privacy & Self Custody: Senator Mike Lee introduced the Saving Privacy Act, which includes language to protect the rights to self-custody and to transact with cryptocurrency.
CFPB Payments Rule: The Senate voted 51-47 to repeal the CFPB’s final rule regarding supervision of large digital payment providers.
Congressional Crypto Caucus: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) launched a Congressional Crypto Caucus focused on advancing bipartisan crypto legislation through the House.
Op-Ed in CoinDesk: Beyond Party Lines: Securing America’s Crypto Innovation Edge.
SEC
Enforcement: The SEC agreed to dismiss its cases against Kraken and Cumberland DRW.
FOIA: History Associates, on behalf of Coinbase, filed a FOIA request seeking to uncover how much money the SEC has spent on investigations and enforcement actions involving issues related to digital asset sales, staking, and lending.
Trivia
Last Week’s A: The state capitols of Minnesota and Rhode Island have the second and fourth largest self-supporting marble domes in the world, respectively.
This Week’s Q: Which two states do not observe daylight savings time?
-GSL
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