- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has delivered conflicting statements on the funding of the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, sparking uncertainty on the matter.
- The clashing statements have fueled doubts about the existence of a Bitcoin Reserve, with some calling it a hoax fabricated to manipulate the value of the premier cryptocurrency for insider benefits.
US Bitcoin Reserve plans have been mired in confusion following Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s contradicting statements on the system of financing the federal bitcoin stash. In a recent interview, Bessent stated that the U.S. will not buy more Bitcoin, then shortly after, hinted at plans to seek cost-conscious avenues for acquiring more.
Bessent Siad: The US Will Not Buy More Bitcoin
In a Fox interview with Maria Bartiromo, Bessent mentioned the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve as a solid asset class in the nation’s reserve system, alongside a massive gold holding worth over $700 billion, based on the current gold price.
“We have also started to get into the 21st century–a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve,” said Bessent.
“We are not going to be buying that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up. We are going to stop selling that.”
According to Bessent, the current US bitcoin stash is worth “between 15 and 20 billion” dollars. While there has been no official statement or disclosure to back up these numbers, most statistics place US Bitcoin holdings between 198k to 200k BTC, which slightly correlates with Bessent’s estimation.
America’s Bitcoin holdings have been a persistent point of contention. But the doubts increased when the White House released its Crypto Report in July without any mention of how much the government holds.
When pressed on the prospects of a US Sovereign Wealth Fund and how the Bitcoin and Gold Reserves potentially interlink with it, Secretary Bessent said it is a “standalone idea” that would be implemented via legislation to ensure its success and sustainability.
Treasury To Expand BTC Reserve Via Budget-Neutral Options
A few hours after Bessent’s statement that the US will depend strictly on seized assets as the channel for its Strategic Reserve, the Treasury Chief inserted a baffling twist into his earlier remarks.
First, he reiterated that forfeited Bitcoin will “be the foundation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that President Trump established in his March Executive Order.” However, he added that the Treasury will review funding methods that will put zero strain on the government’s budget.
“In addition,” wrote Bessent on X, “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 clashing statements have raised suspicions of federal “manipulation”, with popular financial analyst Jacob King saying that the government doesn’t give a damn about Bitcoin. According to King, the Reserve talks were meant to “line the pockets of insiders” by influencing the BTC market value.
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