Bessent Clarifies US Bitcoin Plans, Says Treasury Buys Will Be Budget Neutral

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has walked back earlier remarks that the US would not acquire BTC for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a shift that has left the policy direction murky.

Speaking on Fox News on Thursday, Bessent told anchor Maria Bartiromo that while Washington intends to develop a reserve “to get into the 21st century,” it will not be buying coins outright. Instead, the government plans to use confiscated Bitcoin and stop liquidating those holdings.

“We’re not going to be buying that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up,” he said. “We’re going to stop selling that.” He estimated the value of the current reserve at between $15b-$20b US dollars.

Later in the day, Bessent appeared to soften his stance. In an X post, he said Bitcoin forfeited to the federal government will serve as the foundation of the reserve established under President Donald Trump’s March executive order.

Bitcoin that has been finally forfeited to the federal government will be the foundation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that President Trump established in his March Executive Order.

In addition, Treasury is committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more…

He added that the 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.’”

The remarks contrasted with his earlier categorical dismissal of Bitcoin purchases, sparking confusion among market observers and political critics.

The Trump administration has shifted positions on crypto policy before. On the campaign trail, Trump spoke of a dedicated Bitcoin stockpile. The initiative later expanded to include other tokens such as Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Cardano.

Ultimately, his executive orders created two separate pools, a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a broader digital asset stockpile that holds other cryptocurrencies.

.@SecScottBessent is right: a budget-neutral path to building SBR is the way. We cannot save our country from $37T debt by purchasing more bitcoin, but we can revalue gold reserves to today’s prices & transfer the increase in value to build SBR.

America needs the BITCOIN Act.

The clarification came on the same day Bitcoin surged to a record high above $124,000 before quickly reversing. The milestone showed how sentiment around policy can move in step with broader financial conditions.

Doug Colkitt, a founding contributor at Fogo Chain, said the new peak showed “how much momentum and liquidity were building in risk assets ahead of the PPI print.”

But he warned the reversal shows that “even the strongest crypto rallies remain tethered to macro forces, especially when inflation surprises force investors to rethink rate-cut timelines.”

For Bessent, the balancing act is clear. He must show the administration is serious about building a Bitcoin reserve without rattling financial markets or opening the government to accusations of reckless spending.

His repeated clarifications reflect the political sensitivity of the issue. They also show how deeply the Trump administration has tied its crypto stance to a broader economic message of sovereignty and modernization.

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