Republican Senators Lummis, Cassidy Introduce 'Mined In America Act'

Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) today introduced the "Mined in America Act," a bill which hopes reshore critical crypto infrastructure and reduce reliance on foreign hardware.

What's the Scoop?

• Voluntary Certification: The Mined in America Act would direct the Department of Commerce to establish a voluntary certification program for cryptocurrency mining facilities and mining pools. Under the program, certified miners must transition away from, "equipment manufactured by companies tied to foreign adversaries."
• Support Domestic Mining: The bill also direct two non-regulatory divisions within the Department of Commerce (the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership) to, "help U.S. manufacturers develop secure and energy-efficient cryptocurrency mining equipment."
• Codify SBR: Additionally, the bill seeks to codify the "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve," establishing its formal role within Department of the Treasury.

What's the Take?

While the Mined in America Act has already received endorsement from industry groups like the Satoshi Action Fund, reshoring incentive programs – especially given the possibility for future mandates – risk pulling BTC further from its foundation as a permissionless, borderless system.

U.S. tech policy has trended increasingly toward tighter control over digital infrastructure (the FCC banned authorizations for new foreign routers and California will soon mandate online identity verification), and the introduction of federal standards for crypto mining fits with the trend, representing a sharp departure from Bitcoin’s original cypherpunk ideals.