Recent remarks by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent caused a brief stir in Bitcoin and crypto markets, signaling that the U.S. government won’t be selling Bitcoin and is exploring budget-neutral options to expand the country’s Bitcoin reserves. Senator Cynthia Lummis emphasized the importance of the BITCOIN Act in growing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve without burdening taxpayers.
Initially stating that the government won’t be buying more Bitcoin, Bessent later clarified that forfeited Bitcoin will form the foundation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as per President Trump’s Executive Order. He also highlighted the commitment to acquiring more Bitcoin through budget-neutral means to establish the U.S. as a leading ‘Bitcoin superpower.’
Senator Lummis, leading the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, reiterated the need for a budget-neutral approach to building the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. She proposed revaluing gold reserves to current prices as a strategy to fund the reserve, emphasizing the significance of the BITCOIN Act in this endeavor.
The groundwork for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve was laid out five months ago, with President Trump’s executive order directing the allocation of forfeited Bitcoin to the reserve and the development of budget-neutral acquisition strategies. Lummis’s BITCOIN Act aims to codify and enhance this framework, including a substantial five-year purchase program and stringent holding period requirements.
While Bessent expressed skepticism about revaluing U.S. gold reserves, Lummis advocates for marking gold to market to fund the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve without additional borrowing. The focus remains on the executive branch’s initial steps to establish the reserve with forfeited coins and ongoing evaluations of budget-neutral expansion methods.
As of the latest update, Bitcoin is trading at $118,751, reflecting the ongoing developments in America’s approach to building and expanding its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
