A White House official revealed that the Donald Trump administration is eager to acquire as much Bitcoin as possible.
During a closed-door roundtable session this week, Bo Hines, the Presidential Working Group on Crypto Assets director, confirmed that the administration is focused on building its Bitcoin reserves. However, Hines emphasized that any acquisitions would be “budget neutral” and not burden taxpayers.
One of the key topics at the roundtable was the Bitcoin Act, recently reintroduced by Senator Cynthia Lummis. The bill proposes that the U.S. government purchase up to one million BTC and formally establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
According to Hines, the White House supports such a move and plans to apply pressure to ensure the legislation passes Congress. This is to ensure the status of the Bitcoin reserve endures beyond Trump’s administration.
Debate Surrounding the Funding of Bitcoin Purchases
The proposed funding mechanism for Bitcoin purchases has raised questions about its practicality. The Bitcoin Act would rely on revaluing U.S. gold certificates, which have not been updated since the U.S. abandoned the gold standard in 1971.
The certificates, which have appreciated dramatically in value due to the rise in gold prices, could fund the purchase of Bitcoin. However, critics have raised concerns about whether this approach can truly be considered “budget neutral” given the size of the proposed purchase.
Notably, acquiring 1 million Bitcoin would cost the government around $83 billion at the current price of 1 BTC.
As of now, the U.S. government holds a portfolio of around 200,000 BTC. However, analysts have noted that only 43% of this holding (about 86,000 BTC) could make it to the proposed reserve, as the other half, while seized, may not have been officially forfeited.
we think current US bitcoin balance available for re-purpose into a reserve is max 88k BTC, only 43% of current government holdings. that’s bc of the ~198k BTC now held by USG, 112k BTC will be returned to bitfinex
market will learn the difference between “seized” & “forfeited”
— Alex Thorn (@intangiblecoins) March 7, 2025
Progress on Bitcoin Reserve
This week, the U.S. government also explored strategies for custodial solutions for the proposed Bitcoin reserve, considering third-party or self-custody options.
The Treasury Department consulted with three industry giants in custody solutions. However, no official decisions yet on how to approach the custody of Bitcoin and other altcoins. Inside sources suggest the government could opt for third-party services in the interim, pending its readiness for self-custody.