Senator Cynthia Lummis buys drinks with cash: ‘I spend dollars and save Bitcoin’

Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of Bitcoin’s biggest advocates in Washington, defended her decision to pay in cash at a Bitcoin-themed bar, saying she views Bitcoin as a long-term store of value.

“Because I spend dollars and save Bitcoin,” Lummis told a Fox reporter when asked why she didn’t use Bitcoin to buy drinks at Pub Key in New York. “Bitcoin is an asset that’s growing in value, and I know it’s volatile… but in the long term, it’s growing in value, where the US dollar is by design debasing every year.”

Lummis, who has long pushed for Bitcoin adoption at the state and federal levels, was in New York for a Bitcoin investor conference, where she participated in panels discussing the future of digital assets.

Bitcoin reserve plans face challenges

Lummis has been spearheading efforts to create a US Bitcoin reserve but admitted that progress has been slower than expected.

“My bets are that you’ll see a state have a Bitcoin strategic reserve before the federal government,” she said at the conference, hosted by crypto investor Anthony Pompliano. “States are incubators of innovation.”

The idea of a national Bitcoin reserve was f irst introduced by President Donald Trump at a conference in Nashville last July. In January, Trump signed an executive order to study the feasibility of a digital asset stockpile rather than declaring Bitcoin as the primary reserve asset.

“But there’s a possibility that some of these things can be begun without statutory authorization,” Lummis noted. “So we’ll see what the White House is thinking about that and then we’ll hope to augment it.”

States reject Bitcoin reserve bills

Despite growing interest, efforts to establish Bitcoin reserves at the state level have faced resistance. Lawmakers in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming all rejected bills to create state-level crypto reserves in recent weeks, citing concerns over risk and volatility.

Lummis’ federal proposal calls for the US to acquire 1 million Bitcoin, while Trump’s initial plan suggested maintaining ownership of the 200,000 BTC already held by the government through asset seizures.