Completely contrary to statements made 24 hours earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent now says the federal government is committed to exploring ways to buy more Bitcoin for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bessent wrote:
"Bitcoin ultimately seized for the federal government will be the foundation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund that President Trump established in an Executive Order in March."
This change comes less than a day after Bessent told Fox Business that the U.S. has no plans to buy more Bitcoin, instead relying solely on seized assets. At that time, he said:
"We will not buy that... we will use seized assets and continue to build it. We will stop selling it."
The previous outlook left cryptocurrency investors disappointed, many of whom viewed government purchases as a potential catalyst for higher prices. The new message seems to reopen the door for government buybacks — although Bessent emphasized that any buyback would be 'budget-neutral,' alluding to potential funding sources such as asset reallocations rather than new spending.
The U.S. government estimates it is holding $24.27 billion in seized BTC. The cryptocurrency market slid after earlier comments from Scott Bessent dampened hopes for Bitcoin purchases in the U.S., wiping out recent gains. Bitcoin fell from above $124,000 to nearly $117,000, and altcoins followed suit.
