Scott Bessent confirms to Congress that the government will not direct banks to purchase BTC in case of market collapse.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before Congress on Wednesday, reiterating that the United States will maintain the bitcoins acquired through asset seizures but will not direct private banks to purchase more BTC in case of market collapse.
California Representative Brad Sherman, a known critic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, asked Bessent: “Does the Treasury Department or the various components of the Federal Open Market Committee have the authority to bail out Bitcoin?” Sherman then asked whether Bessent plans to direct private banks to acquire more BTC or “Trump Coin,” referring to the memecoins linked to President Donald Trump, through changes to banking reserve requirements.
Bessent responded: “I am Treasury Secretary. I do not have the authority to do that, and as chairman of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), I do not have such authority.” During the testimony, Bessent added that the $500 million in bitcoin seized and held by the U.S. government has increased to over $15 billion while in custody.
The testimony represents the latest update on the Bitcoin strategic reserve initiative, established by Trump through an executive order in March 2025. Trump’s executive order established that the United States can acquire more BTC for the strategic reserve only through asset forfeiture cases or budget-neutral strategies. Budget-neutral methods do not add specific expenses to the U.S. budget and include converting other existing reserve assets, such as oil or precious metals, into bitcoin.
This means that the U.S. government will not acquire additional BTC in open market operations. In August 2025, Bessent had stated that the Treasury Department was exploring the acquisition of BTC through budget-neutral methods.
