Bitcoin Surges Above $106K as Hopes for U.S. Strategic Reserve Grow

Will the United States establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve under President Donald Trump? While the answer remains uncertain, there is an increasing sense of optimism surrounding this proposal, which seems to have contributed to Bitcoin's impressive rise on Thursday.

Initially, Bitcoin was trading between $101,000 and $102,000 early in the day. However, the situation changed when Senator Cynthia Lummis, a strong advocate for Bitcoin and the sponsor of the "Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness Through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act," teased significant news on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"Big things are coming," Lummis tweeted, cleverly replacing the first letter of the word with the Bitcoin logo. She followed this up with a message to "stay tuned for 10am." The anticipation drove Bitcoin's price upwards, surpassing $105,000, before retracting to around $103,000, and then soaring again to nearly $106,000.

Although there was no major announcement at 10am ET, Lummis later confirmed she was appointed as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott around 10:45am ET.

In her statement, Lummis asserted, "Digital assets are the future, and if the United States wants to remain a global leader in financial innovation, Congress needs to urgently pass bipartisan legislation establishing a comprehensive legal framework for digital assets and that strengthens the U.S. dollar with a strategic Bitcoin reserve." This statement was largely viewed as positive news by market participants.

Bitcoin's price subsequently surged to $106,732, marking its highest point since the previous Tuesday. As of the current moment, it remains above the $106,000 threshold. Bitcoin has seen an almost 3% increase on the day and has risen nearly 7% this week.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao commented, "U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve pretty much confirmed. Crypto moving at crypto speed again." While some may see this as a confirmatory statement, opinions vary on the details.

Trump has had a pro-crypto stance in the past and advocated for a national Bitcoin stockpile during the Bitcoin 2024 conference held last July. Recently, following his election victory, several state legislators have introduced bills aimed at potentially creating their own treasury reserves.

According to data from the crypto prediction market platform Polymarket, only 42% of bettors believe Trump will establish a national Bitcoin reserve within his first 100 days in office.

Bitcoin, Trump, Reserve