US Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent has revealed that his division is still exploring budget-neutral methods to buy Bitcoin for strategic Bitcoin reserves — in contrast to his recent comments suggesting that the plan is off-table, sparking a selling of Bitcoin.
“The Treasury is working to explore budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand its budget and enforce the president’s promise to make the US a “world Bitcoin superpower,” Bescent made clear on X on Thursday.
He repeatedly said that Bitcoin (BTC) confiscated by the federal government would form a foundation for the protected area.
There was already concern that the slow pace of implementing strategic Bitcoin reserves could open up frontruns by other nation-states. Some feared that the Treasury might not even follow the strategy.
About seven hours before Thursday, Bessent’s comments on Fox Business were widely interpreted to mean that the Treasury was not trying to buy Bitcoin.
“We’ve also begun to enter the 21st century, the Bitcoin Reserve. We’re not going to buy it, but we’re going to continue building it using the assets that have been confiscated,” Bescent told the media outlet.
Despite clarification, Bitcoin is trading at $118,500 at the time of writing.
Less talk, more actions, Bitcoin experts say
The Bessent clarification has reassured some Bitcoiners, but some are concerned that the US Treasury may not implement that promise.
“Are you still ‘exploring a budget-neutral pathway’? At some point, exploration without execution starts to look like evasion,” Eli Nagar, CEO of Bitcoin mining company Briins, said in X.
“Now, let’s move!”
The Ministry of Finance has been “exploring” budget-neutral methods for five months
Trump signed an executive order on March 6th, establishing both a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile. Both use codes initially confiscated in government criminal cases.
The order opened the door for additional Bitcoin purchases via a “budget-neutral” strategy of “no incremental costs on US taxpayers.” However, no major developments have been shared about how these strategies will be implemented in the long Crypto report from Digital Asset Working Group last month.
Among the floating budget neutral strategies is the Ministry of Finance’s gold certificate and a reassessment of tariff revenue.
One reason for the slow progress is that the Treasury requires Congressional approval to purchase Bitcoin in a budget-neutral way. US Sen. Cynthia Ramis notes this point and urges Congress to take a closer look at the Bitcoin Act, which he introduced in March.
“We’re going to stop selling” Bitcoin: Bessent
While no action has been taken by the buyers, Bessent has confirmed that the US is not planning to sell existing Bitcoin Holdings.
“We’re going to stop selling,” he told Fox Business, adding that he believes the strategic Bitcoin Reserve is currently valued “between $15 billion and $20 billion.”
This is in close agreement with Bitbo’s Bitcoin Treasuries Dashboard. This reports that the US holds 198,012 Bitcoin worth $23.5 billion.
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