Last week’s Bitcoin Nashville conference made waves in the crypto world as former U.S. President Donald Trump and Senator Cynthia Lummis made significant statements regarding Bitcoin. Trump suggested using the government’s existing holdings of 200,000 BTC to create a new reserve, while Lummis proposed building it up to 1 million BTC. This move was seen as a way to potentially reduce the national debt, which currently stands at $27 trillion.
However, questions arose about the legality and feasibility of these proposals, especially regarding the source of the government’s existing Bitcoin holdings. There was also speculation about converting excess reserves at Federal Reserve banks into Bitcoin over five years, with some suggesting that this could be done by revaluing the gold in Fort Knox.
The draft bill obtained by CoinDesk outlines a plan to revalue Federal Reserve gold certificates and set aside $6 billion from net earnings over the next five fiscal years. However, concerns were raised about the Federal Reserve’s recent losses and the practicality of such a plan.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board weighed in on the debate, noting that cryptocurrencies should trade without government intervention if they are truly meant to be free from political influence. The discussion took a turn when reports surfaced that U.S. authorities had moved $2 billion worth of Bitcoin associated with the Silk Road seizures, leading to speculation about political motivations behind the move.
In other news, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles digitized 42 million car titles on the Avalanche network to modernize the state’s title transfer process. Additionally, stablecoin issuer Circle’s pre-IPO shares are trading at a valuation of over $5 billion in private markets.
On the blockchain front, Hyperbolic raised $7 million in seed funding for an AI inference service, while Roxom secured $4.3 million to launch a Bitcoin-denominated stock exchange. Kuru also raised $2 million for building the first fully on-chain central limit order book on Monad.
In terms of performance, XRP led the gainers among CoinDesk 20 members in July, with a 32% increase, followed by Solana at 20%. Bitcoin also saw a 3.8% rise for the month.
Overall, the Bitcoin Nashville conference sparked important discussions about the U.S. government’s potential influence on the Bitcoin protocol and the broader cryptocurrency market. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these political developments impact the future of Bitcoin and other digital assets.