Bitcoin influencer (BTC), Pierre Rochard, has called on law makers to prevent more than $ 1.6 billion worth of seized Bitcoin from being auctioned, proposing instead that confiscated coins be placed in a strategic BTC reserve .
Rochard, Bitcoin’s maximizer behind the recent debate over total Ether supply (ETH), wants legislators to draft and pass a bill that includes amendments to the Judiciary Act of 1789 that would allow the U.S. Marshals Service to hold onto any Bitcoin it has accepted.
In a blog post published Dec. 16, Rochard warned against the auction of 69,370 Bitcoin seized by the IRS in November from an alleged Silk Road hacker, noting that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had filed a civil complaint for BTC forfeiture.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Rochard stressed the “urgent” need to update the legislation, asserting that he expects the US Marshal’s Service to win its forfeiture and auction case off the Bitcoin “within the next six months.”
“We need to pass this law very quickly so we can stop the auction,” he said.
In his blog, Rochard emphasized that only $ 122 million was auctioning more than 144,000 Bitcoin in 2014 and 2015, while those same crypto assets today would fetch more than $ 3.32 billion.
“A quick auction of seized Bitcoin was a mistake, in my opinion, with the benefit of hindsight.”
Although the coins seized in November are worth $ 1.6 billion today, Rochard suggests that the United States will reap greater value by holding on to the Bitcoin in the longer term, urging legislators to allow “the Congress plans on disposal of this unique asset. ”
“The Federal Reserve can create an infinite amount of US dollars, the proceeds of the auction. Bitcoins cannot be created out of thin air and there are a limited number of them. […] A large strategic pool of Bitcoin may be essential for our national security. ”
Rochard told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin will soon play a “vital” role in the national government treasury, predicting that “we will see governments develop large sovereign wealth funds from Bitcoin over the coming decade.”
“If the United States wants to maintain its leadership, financially and also in science and technology, then we should develop Bitcoin reserves at the federal level,” he said, adding:
“Initially put the confiscated coins into it, but then as we move forward, we’re going to add to that reserve as well.”