Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish Strategic Bitcoin Reserves

The White House cryptocurrency chief stated that Trump signed an executive order to establish strategic Bitcoin reserves. The reserves come from the Bitcoins owned by the federal government, which were confiscated during criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, and will not cost taxpayers a dime. It is estimated that the U.S. government holds about 200,000 Bitcoins. The government will not sell any Bitcoins deposited in the reserves, as premature sales in the past have cost U.S. taxpayers over $17 billion. The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce are authorized to develop budget-neutral strategies to acquire additional Bitcoins, provided that these strategies do not incur incremental costs to U.S. taxpayers. Additionally, the executive order establishes a U.S. digital asset reserve, composed of digital assets other than Bitcoins confiscated in criminal or civil litigation, and the government will not make additional purchases for the digital asset reserve. The purpose of establishing the digital asset reserve is to manage the government's digital assets through the Department of the Treasury.