Full disclosure: we are proponents of cryptocurrency, generally. That doesn’t mean that we like ALL cryptocurrencies, but we do have our favorites. Bitcoin (“BTC” or “bitcoin”) is one of our favorites, so our team is encouraged by the bipartisan embrace of cryptocurrencies.
TL;DR
If passed:
- the US Government will buy 200,000 BTC per year for 5 years (1,000,000 BTC total);
- existing Federal Reserve gold certificates (Gold (symbol “XAU”) priced at $42.22 per troy ounce (the “1934 Gold Price”) will be exchanged for newly issued certificates (priced at fair-market value, which is currently $3,000 (the “Gold FMV”)) and the difference between the Gold FMV and the 1934 Gold Price will be allocated to purchase BTC;
- the first $6 billion of the net earnings from other payments from Federal Reserve banks to the Treasury would be allocated to make BTC purchases;
- all BTC acquired under the BITCOIN Act will be held for at least 20 years; and
- the BITCOIN ACT enshrines the notion of self-custody through individual control of private keys (apparently, Congress would recognize the corollary to “not your keys – not your crypto”).
Any statutory requirement for the United States treasury to (a) acquire nearly 5% of the maximum amount of BTC ever produced and (b) hold the bitcoin for 20 years after acquisition would be a strong buy signal for BTC and thus make bitcoin a safer investment.
BITCOIN Act has been introduced in Congress
On March 11, 2025, the Senate and the House of Representatives n the United States Congress have introduced bills called the “Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act of 2025” (note, the first letter of each word in the title spells “BITCOIN” and hereinafter referred to as the “BITCOIN Act”). In the Senate, the bill is S. 954; in the House of Representatives, it’s H.R. 2032. Both bills are nearly identical, so for our purposes, we’ll cite to the Senate bill (S.954).
Themes in the bill that are exciting to burrell law as attorneys
government permits self-custody of cryptocurrency assets (private Key Management without Interference)
As proponents of human liberty and self-sovereignty, we were most excited about the language concerning private key management.
What are Private Keys?
What are private keys you may ask? From a cryptocurrency asset holder’s perspective, the private key is the most important tool with that asset because a private key is needed to transfer (use) the crypto-asset. For example, many may be familiar with the guy digging in the trash to find his lost $800 million worth of BTC.
However, if he had written the private key down somewhere or memorized it, he would have access to his bitcoin because he could still move the bitcoin.
Bitcoin, like most, if not all, other cryptocurrencies, are records in the protocol – they don’t exist physically in any one device, unlike a PDF filed saved on your desktop. Thus, as long as the protocol is running and you have your private key, you can transfer your BTC to pay for a house, land, coffee, or pizza.
Without the private key, your bitcoin are basically a dead asset (or worthless) since you wouldn’t be able to exchange the bitcoin for any goods or services.
BITCOIN Act would confirm “Be Your Own Bank” Ethos
Possession of the private key is what allows anyone, the bitcoin holder, to “be their own bank” as many in the bitcoin community love to claim. No one can stop the transfer of your BTC as long as you have control of the private key. Under Section 10 of the proposed BITCOIN Act of 2025, the government is expressly stating that (a) it will not impair or confiscate anyone’s bitcoin holdings and (b) it recognizes our right to maintain control of our private keys (self-custody). This is huge because it means holders of BTC (or any other cryptocurrencies) don’t need to rely on a 3rd party, like Coinbase or an investment bank, to hold our crypto.
However, self-custody (controlling the private key) reminds us of two maxims that are repeated often: (1) with great power comes great responsibility and (2) just because you can “be your own bank” doesn’t mean that you should (be your own bank). Part of self-sovereignty is recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses. If you’re less likely to be diligent storing and maintaining security over your private key, you should outsource that responsibility to a trusted 3rd party.
At Burrell Law, we will update this blog post with material developments as the BITCOIN Act of 2025 proposed legislation moves through the congressional process. A special thank you to the team at Burrell Harper + Co. LLC for their technical assistance regarding private keys and other tech-specific information.
