U.S. Treasury Eyes Budget-Neutral Path to Grow Bitcoin Reserve

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the department still considers budget-neutral ways to buy BTC for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. His statement came hours after television comments that suggested the government would not purchase more Bitcoin.

On X, Bessent clarified that Treasury remains committed to acquiring more BTC through budget-neutral methods. He said these methods would expand the reserve without additional cost to taxpayers. 

Earlier on Fox Business, Bessent said the U.S. would not buy additional Bitcoin for the reserve. He explained the government would build the reserve using finally forfeited Bitcoin and would stop selling those holdings.

Bessent said the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is valued between $15 billion and $20 billion. These coins came mostly from government forfeitures in criminal cases. He also added that the U.S. will stop selling government Bitcoin deposited into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (with narrow legal exceptions), not a blanket halt to all auctions of seized coins.

The Treasury Secretary indicated that forfeited assets would form the foundation of the reserve. His statements align with the White House plan for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that avoids imposing incremental costs on taxpayers.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 6 establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile. The order uses cryptocurrency forfeited in criminal cases as the starting point. It specifically calls for budget-neutral strategies to expand the reserve without adding new taxpayer costs.

Officials have not detailed what “budget-neutral” would entail in practice. Possible routes discussed by policy watchers include swapping seized coins for reserve allocations, using fee revenues to offset purchases, or structured purchases contingent on sales of other assets. The Treasury has not endorsed any method.

The government officials have discussed various possibilities since the order’s signing. They noted that any expansion approach may require congressional involvement. Senator Cynthia Lummis urged consideration of her BITCOIN Act as one potential path forward.