Treasury Secretary Bessent confirms the “budget-neutral” strategy for the strategic bitcoin reserve.
In an interview on “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the United States will not proceed with acquiring new bitcoins through direct market purchases.
No taxpayer dollars will be used to increase holdings in digital assets, Bessent confirmed. He clarified that the strategy is based exclusively on a “budget-neutral” approach, using only bitcoins seized through legal confiscation operations. The strategic reserve will therefore grow solely through the accumulation of digital assets obtained via legal actions and seizures.
The new policy outlined by Bessent calls for the immediate halt of bitcoin sales from the government’s holdings, marking a shift from previous practices, when U.S. authorities tended to liquidate seized digital assets. Currently, the U.S. government’s bitcoin holdings are estimated at between $15 billion and $20 billion at today’s prices, Bessent said.
The Treasury Secretary also noted that gold will continue to play its traditional role as a “store of value” for the American people.
