Summary
⚈ Funds aim to reduce senior water bills and support emergency relief if needed.
⚈ Reserve locked for 10 years, with limited spending allowed after surpassing $1 million.
Roswell, New Mexico, famous for a UFO incident alleged to have occurred near the city in 1947, has become the first city in the United States to establish a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve.
The news was first broken by pseudonymous cryptocurrency YouTuber Crypto Rover in an April 30 X post.
Per the shared document, the Roswell Strategic Bitcoin Reserve has received a “first seed” donation of 0.3050233 BTC, worth roughly $2,906 at the time of receipt.
How the Roswell Bitcoin reserves will be used
The UFO capital’s intention is for the reserves to hold funds for no less than 10 years, after which the proceeds can be used to alleviate a percentage, up to 100%, of the water bills of all the senior citizens in Roswell.
In addition, after the value of the reserves surpasses $1 million, the Bitcoin holdings can be used as a “liquid emergency fund”. To be more precise, up to 21% of the value of the reserves can be used every five years for disaster relief — but only with the unanimous approval of the Roswell City Council.
While 2025 hasn’t been a great year for BTC returns thus far, the leading cryptocurrency has show signs of resilience, and has recently exhibited price action that does not correlate with the stock market. Moreover, as the Roswell Bitcoin reserves will be funded exclusively from donations and sponsorships, the city is not exposing itself to any financial risk from the cryptocurrency’s volatility.
Featured image from Shutterstock
