Thomas Massie introduces bill to end Federal Reserve after reading The Bitcoin Standard

A congressman listened to an audiobook and decided the Federal Reserve needs to go. That’s not a joke, that’s the actual legislative origin story of H.R. 1846.

Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie introduced the Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act on March 5, 2025, a bill that would dismantle the Fed’s Board of Governors and its network of regional banks. Massie credits The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous, specifically the audiobook version, as the catalyst for his renewed push to eliminate America’s central bank.

What the bill actually does

The bill would repeal the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, effective one year after enactment. All assets and liabilities currently held by the Federal Reserve would transfer to the US Treasury.

Senator Mike Lee of Utah filed a companion bill in the Senate, S. 869, creating a two-chamber effort that at least theoretically gives the initiative a path through both houses of Congress.

Massie says the bill has roughly two dozen original cosponsors. That represents a tenfold increase compared to similar efforts he championed about a decade ago.

The Bitcoin Standard connection

The Bitcoin Standard, published in 2018, argues that sound money, meaning currency with a fixed or predictable supply, is essential for economic stability and individual freedom. Ammous traces the history of monetary systems from commodity money through the gold standard to fiat currencies, making the case that central banks enable government spending beyond what taxation alone would support.

Massie has also sponsored the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, H.R. 24, which he reintroduced in January 2025. That bill takes a more modest approach, pushing for a full audit of the Fed rather than its outright elimination.

What this means for investors

The bill is in its introductory stage with no immediate market reactions observed. The Federal Reserve manages monetary policy for a $28 trillion economy, serves as lender of last resort during financial crises, and operates the payment infrastructure that keeps the banking system functional. The bill’s one-year transition window would apply to unwinding that entire apparatus.

For the crypto market specifically, this kind of legislative activity reinforces the narrative that Bitcoin serves as an alternative to central bank-managed money. The crypto sector has worked to position itself as a bipartisan issue, and a bill publicly linked to a Bitcoin book could complicate that framing in broader legislative negotiations.