Treasury Secretary Reveals U.S. Bitcoin Surprise, Triggering Price Shockwaves
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The bitcoin price, which has doubled since this time last year, fell by 5% as traders brace for a September shock following U.S. president Donald Trump dropping a $12.2 trillion bombshell.
Bitcoin's bearish reversal comes as U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent revealed the U.S. holds far fewer bitcoin than previously thought, putting the value of the U.S. government's at "$15 billion to $20 billion"—well below estimates of more than $23 billion.
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The figure was used as Bessent appeared to rule out the U.S. buying additional bitcoin for the bitcoin strategic reserve promised by president Donald Trump during what seemed to be off-the-cuff remarks during an interview with Fox Business.
"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, following a question about the U.S. gold reserves, adding: 'I believe that bitcoin reserve is at today's prices somewhere between $15 and $20 billion.'
Estimates for how much bitcoin the U.S. government holds have been put at around $23 billion by various sources, including Arkham Intelligence, which reckons the U.S. is sitting on almost 200,000 bitcoin.
Following the interview, Bessent sought to clarify his comments on X, saying, "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,'" and calling the 'bitcoin that has been finally forfeited to the federal government ... the foundation of the strategic bitcoin reserve that president Trump established in his March executive order.'
White House crypto czar David Sacks has said Bessent and Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, an outspoken bitcoin bull, will have final say on whether to purchase additional bitcoin via 'budget-neutral' methods, such as selling off other government reserve assets such as gold.
The bitcoin reserve and a broader crypto stockpile were ordered by Trump this year following a campaign promise first made during the Bitcoin 2024 conference.
Trump's order instructed his crypto task force to explore how the reserve and stockpile would be funded, though a hotly anticipated report earlier this month failed to present any ideas, with the report's primary author Bo Hines, who headed Trump's council of advisers on digital assets, leaving his post shortly after publication.
Bitcoin and crypto supporting senator Cynthia Lummis has said the Trump administration's priority is for the now passed Genius Act stablecoin bill and a crypto market structure bill that's still making its way though Congress, with the White House not going to look to the bitcoin reserve until they've both been passed.
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Earlier this year, the bitcoin price and crypto market was spooked by reports the U.S. could hold just 30,000 bitcoin—something Bessent's comments seem to refute.
The U.S. Marshals Service was revealed in July to hold fewer bitcoin than previously thought, according to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by pseudonymous crypto journalist L0la L33tz, raising questions over how much bitcoin the U.S. government holds and whether some of the bitcoin was quietly sold off.
"I'm alarmed by reports that the U.S. has sold off over 80% of its bitcoin reserves—leaving just ~29,000 coins," senator Cynthia Lummis, a bitcoin supporter who has championed the creation of a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve, posted to X. 'If true, this is a total strategic blunder and sets the United States back years in the bitcoin race.'
If the U.S. does only hold less than 30,000 bitcoin, it would bump it down to fourth in the global rankings, behind China (194,000 bitcoin), the U.K. (61,000), Ukraine (46,000) and ahead of Bhutan with 13,000 bitcoin.
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