Treasury secretary clarifies Trump administration's crypto plans
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox Business Thursday morning that the U.S. government isn't going to buy more bitcoin, but that doesn't mean that plans are off the table to acquire more, he clarified later.
Why it matters: Bitcoin watchers have been eager for details on how the Trump administration will actually manage the strategic bitcoin reserve, created by executive order back in March.
Catch up quick: The foundation of the reserve is an estimated $20 billion hoard of the cryptocurrency that the U.S. government has seized from criminal operations.
- But when Trump authored his executive order establishing the itcoin reserve — and a stockpile of other seized crypto assets — he said that the Commerce and Treasury departments would look into "budget neutral" ways to grow the bitcoin stash.
The intrigue: Bessent's aside on television this morning seemed to many to indicate that further acquisitions are off the table.
- What he said: "We've also started — to get into the 21st Century — a bitcoin strategic reserve. We're not going to be buying that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up. We're going to stop selling that," Bessent said.
The latest: Axios reached out to the White House for comment. But later in the day Bessent took to social media to offer what looked like a clarification from his morning comments: "Treasury is committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin."
Our thought bubble: Folks read a little too much into the text of the original comment Thursday. If you watched Bessent in the interview, the bit about not buying didn't come off like a big policy statement. It was more of an aside.
What we're watching: The administrations plan for the reserve was something many hoped would show up in the White House's massive report on crypto policy. That was one thing the report didn't cover, however.
- So we're still waiting to learn more about potential strategies the government could use to acquire more bitcoin, if it does at all.
What's next: The Treasury Secretary did, however, make a different policy statement on the show Thursday that seemed to really indicate future plans for the administration.
- He said that the Trump administration would take legislation to Congress to codify how the Federal government will handle its assets (like bitcoin and gold) going forward.
- "I think this is going to be one of President Trump's great legacies," Bessent said.
