Trump’s Treasury Secretary Bessent backs Bitcoin acquisitions after saying America's not buying

Key Takeaways

• Trump’s Treasury Secretary stirred concerns today with a comment that the US will not be purchasing Bitcoin.
• Treasury aims to increase the reserve through budget-neutral methods to support US leadership in cryptocurrency.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified that the administration is still eyeing budget-neutral ways to grow the national Bitcoin reserve after saying on Fox Business this morning that the US government wasn’t stacking sats but just repurposing seized coins.

Bitcoin that has been obtained through criminal seizures and legal forfeiture processes will form the foundation of the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, according to Bessent. He added that the government is open to acquiring more, and future acquisitions won’t involve new government spending or deficit financing.

“Treasury is committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve, and to execute on the President’s promise to make the United States the Bitcoin superpower of the world,” Bessent stated .

This morning’s comment from Trump’s Treasury Secretary that the US won’t be purchasing Bitcoin triggered confusion among many members of the crypto industry. But the message is in line with what the administration has publicly promoted since President Trump’s March executive order launched the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

As repeatedly explained by Bo Hines, the former Executive Director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, the Treasury and crypto policy team are pursuing budget-neutral options to add Bitcoin in a way that avoids placing any new burden on the federal budget.

Hines has floated using tools like tariffs or a gold revaluation to help fund the Bitcoin reserve, but these ideas remain in the exploratory phase.

Senator Cynthia Lummis has reintroduced the BITCOIN Act , aiming to enhance the US’s position in global crypto policy strategy by proposing the purchase of up to one million Bitcoins over five years for strategic reserves.