MARA CEO Advocates for U.S. Bitcoin Mining to Build Strategic Reserve

Marathon Digital Holdings CEO Fred Thiel proposed that the U.S. government should mine bitcoin to build a strategic reserve, as outlined in former President Trump's March executive order. He emphasized using excess hydroenergy for domestic mining to achieve this goal.

Key points from the discussion at Bitcoin 2025 include:

The strategic bitcoin reserve currently aims to hold approximately 200,000 bitcoins seized by the government through forfeitures.
Senator Cynthia Lummis has reintroduced the BITCOIN Act of 2025, which seeks to formalize plans for the reserve.
Lummis suggested converting part of the government's gold certificates into bitcoin over the next two to five years.
She noted challenges in advancing the BITCOIN Act, particularly due to Congress's focus on stablecoin and market structure legislation.

Thiel highlighted the importance of actual bitcoin acquisitions for the reserve, stating that without action, the reserve remains just an empty promise.