U.S. Treasury Confirms It Will Stop Purchasing Additional Bitcoin for Its Strategic Reserve

Bitcoin experienced a sharp fall-dropping from its all time high of $214,457 to $118,730-after U.S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the government would no longer be making additional purchases of Bitcoin for its strategic reserve and digital asset stockpile.

During the Fox Business interview, Bessent confirmed that the U.S government will stop its purchase of bitcoin.

"We've also started to get into the 21st century, a Bitcoin reserve. We're not going to buy that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up."

When U.S President Donald Trump first created a strategic Bitcoin reserve, the original plan was to build it up using forfeited cryptocurrencies from forfeited government criminal cases.

At some point, Trump did explore the the idea of purchasing additional Bitcoin via "budget neutral" strategies that do not impose incremental costs on United States taxpayers.

Bessent had previously advocated for ending the sale of seized Bitcoin and emphasized the importance of adding remaining assets to a national Bitcoin reserve to enhance the country’s global crypto leadership.

Administration officials, including AI and crypto czar David Sacks, have described the reserve as a “digital Fort Knox” to be preserved as a long-term store of value.

Bessets Assures No Bitcoin Will Be Sold

Bitcoin’s price tumbled swiftly after the Treasury Secretary’s comments, leading to a more than $1 billion market cap drop and triggering significant liquidations across crypto markets.

Hours earlier, Bitcoin had briefly surpassed Google’s market capitalization, becoming the fifth-largest global asset, highlighting the intense optimism that had driven the rally.

In a silver lining to the disappointing statement, Bessent reassured markets that the government has no intention of selling its current Bitcoin holdings, reinforcing David Sack's sentiments that a Bitcoin reserve would be a digital Fort Knox.

"We're going to stop selling. I believe that the Bitcoin reserve at today's price is somewhere between $15 billion and $20 billion."

However, the lack of concrete action on new acquisitions has drawn criticism from industry voices who warn that delays could weaken America’s competitive edge in the global Bitcoin landscape.

Broader Economic Drivers

Meanwhile, the surging U.S. national debt — which has now exceeded $37 trillion for the first time — is prompting some investors to view Bitcoin as a hedge against persistent inflation.

Market watchers believe this mounting debt could fuel expectations of increased money supply, potentially driving Bitcoin toward new all-time highs as the government seeks ways to service its obligations and stimulate economic growth.