“We don’t want any cost to the taxpayers,” said President Donald Trump Friday in a meeting regarding the establishment of a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” for the U.S.
He said that this reserve, which he likened to a “virtual fort Knox for digital gold,” would be built off of an existing foundation of holdings. Trump said the U.S. already has one of the largest holdings of Bitcoin in the world (worth around $17 billion), though he quipped that the previous administration under President Joe Biden “foolishly sold” Bitcoin that would be worth billions today.
Trump announced earlier in the week that he would establish a “U.S. Crypto Reserve” in posts on Truth Social. On Thursday, he ordered the creation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as well as the establishment of a United States Digital Asset Stockpile.
In addition to managing the nation’s existing Bitcoin holdings, the administration also plans to find “new pathways to accumulate additional Bitcoin as long is it comes as no costs to the taxpayers,” Trump said.
“The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce shall develop strategies for acquiring additional Government BTC provided that such strategies are budget neutral and do not impose incremental costs on United States taxpayers,” reads his order to create the stockpile.
Along with the establishment of the reserve, the president said his administration would end “the federal bureaucracy’s war on crypto,” and do more to support the cryptocurrency industry as China also pushes forward to be a leader in the cryptocurrency space.
Others present at the meeting included Trump’s Crypto Czar, David Sacks, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler. Bessent said during the meeting that the Bitcoin holdings could “augment the asset side,” of the nation’s balance sheet.
“This is where we’re going,” said Lutnick.
Others had concerns about the reserve, as reported by Audacy Thursday.
CNBC reported Friday that cryptocurrencies fell on both Thursday and Friday following the news of the U.S. creating a cryptocurrency stockpile. Steven Lubka, head of private clients and family offices at Swan Bitcoin, explained that the markets were hoping to hear that the government would buy more crypto, per the outlet.
However, Lubka still said the announcement is good news for the industry
“This is not the aggressive bitcoin reserve some were pressing for,” TD Cowen’s Jaret Seiberg said in a note Friday, as cited by CNBC. “Instead, the government is simply keeping crypto rather than immediately turning it into cash. Though limited, this is positive for crypto by signifying White House support for digital assets.”