U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reversed course, saying the government will explore budget-neutral ways to buy Bitcoin for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — just a day after ruling out purchases.
In a sharp reversal from remarks made just 24 hours ago, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent now says the federal government is committed to exploring ways to acquire more Bitcoin for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bessent wrote:
“Bitcoin that has been finally forfeited to the federal government will be the foundation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that President Trump established in his March Executive Order.
In addition, 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 shift comes less than a day after Bessent told Fox Business that the U.S. had no plans to purchase additional Bitcoin, opting instead to rely solely on confiscated assets. At the time, he said:
“We’re not going to be buying that… we’re going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up. We’re going to stop selling that.”
That earlier stance had disappointed crypto investors, many of whom saw government buying as a potential catalyst for higher prices. The new message appears to reopen the door to federal acquisitions — though Bessent stressed any purchases would be “budget-neutral,” hinting at potential funding sources like asset reallocations rather than new spending.
The US government is estimated to hold $24.27 billion forfeited BTC.
Crypto markets slipped after Scott Bessent’s earlier comments cooled hopes for U.S. Bitcoin purchases, erasing recent gains. Bitcoin retreated from above $124,000 to near $117,000, with altcoins following suit.
