Welcome to the 16th issue of The Bitcoin Act, where every Tuesday and Sunday we track the legal and regulatory moves that actually shape Bitcoin, cutting through noise, narratives, and theater.

Now for today’s top stories:

🇺🇸 Bessent: No Treasury Bitcoin Bailouts

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stresses Treasury has no authority to bail out BTC.

⚖️ Lummis: Push for Bitcoin Tax Breaks

Sen. Cynthia Lummis presses Treasury for clearer BTC tax guidance, including de minimis exemptions for small transactions.

🏛️ Illinois: State Bitcoin Reserve Proposed

Illinois introduces the Community Bitcoin Reserve Act to hold BTC in multisig cold storage.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Treasury lacks authority to bail out Bitcoin, force banks to hold BTC, or invest taxpayer funds in crypto, emphasizing limits on executive actions amid pro-Bitcoin policy pushes.

Senator Cynthia Lummis argued that Bitcoin tax guidance is needed, including de minimis exemptions for small transactions to make BTC spendable, with Bessent committing Treasury collaboration despite complexities

@saengch, X account, views Bitcoin as a “government slayer” undermining centralized control, but warns Lummis-Bessent tax relief risks state capture. He urges quantum-resistant prep like Strategy’s program to preserve BTC’s sovereign, censorship-resistant nature.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized crypto “nihilists” who prefer no regulation over the Clarity Act, stating they “should move to El Salvador” to avoid what he called “very good regulation” for the industry.

Bitcoin advocate Isabella Santos warns that the new IRS Form 1099-DA creates tax gaps for US holders, recommending long-term holding, minimal trading, and borrowing against BTC to minimize liabilities.

Authorities report that alleged kidnappers of NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie’s mother sent a Bitcoin ransom note to TMZ, prompting FBI probe into abduction, highlighting crypto’s role in wrench attacks.

Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani argues that Bitcoin’s drawdown near 4% of gold’s market cap offers a final buying opportunity before US policies elevate it to sovereign asset status.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted that the US weaponized the dollar against Iran, causing currency shortages, hyperinflation, and protests, with Bitcoin prices surging amid the rial’s plummet.

Strategy’s Michael Saylor declared that Donald J. Trump is the “Bitcoin President” making America a Bitcoin superpower, urging veterans to join the mission in a promotional bulletin.

Illinois proposes the Community Bitcoin Reserve Act. The bill creates a state program to hold Bitcoin in multisig cold storage, starting with the Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve.

📊 12-11 – Senate Ag Committee (Jan 29) advances Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act on party-line vote. First crypto bill past a Senate committee. Senate

🎲 50–54% – Polymarket odds Clarity Act / major crypto bill signed in 2026 (down from ~80% early Jan after industry pushback). Polymarket

💰 ~$78,500–78,600 – Bitcoin price Feb 1, 2026 close (down ~0.4–0.5% intraday amid regulatory uncertainty). Yahoo

👀 -10–12% – Bitcoin weekly drop (late Jan highs ~$88–89k → Feb 1 ~$78.5k) tied to tax-loss selling & bill sentiment. CMC

“I don’t believe we shall ever have a good money again before we take the thing out of the hands of government. If we can’t take it violently out of the hands of government, all we can do is, by some sly roundabout way, introduce something that they can’t stop.” — Friedrich Hayek

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