President of the United States Donald Trump officially signed an executive order regarding the Strategic Crypto Reserve. This step marks a significant change in digital asset policy in the US.
White House Crypto and AI Chief David Sacks wrote in a post on social media platform X that the reserve will be funded exclusively with Bitcoins seized in criminal and civil forfeiture cases, ensuring that taxpayers do not bear the financial burden.
It was also mentioned that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will oversee the development of this Strategic Crypto Reserve policy, focusing on a budget-neutral acquisition strategy for Bitcoin.
"A few minutes ago, President Trump signed an Executive Order to establish the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve," Sacks wrote on his personal X account.
Sacks stated that the reserve will be funded by Bitcoins owned by the federal government that were seized as part of criminal and civil asset forfeiture processes. This means it will not cost taxpayers a dime.
US Government Has 200 Thousand Bitcoins
It is estimated that the US government owns around 200,000 Bitcoins. However, Sacks stated that there has yet to be a complete audit. Therefore, the executive order will direct a full accounting of the US federal government's digital asset ownership.
"The US will not sell any Bitcoins stored in the Strategic Reserve. Those Bitcoins will be kept as a store of value. The reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for cryptocurrency often referred to as digital gold," he explained.
Furthermore, Sacks revealed that premature Bitcoin sales have cost US taxpayers more than USD 17 billion in lost value.
"Now the federal government will have a strategy to maximize the value of its ownership," he added.
Digital Assets Other Than Bitcoin
In addition, the Executive Order also establishes the US Digital Asset Reserve, which consists of digital assets other than Bitcoins seized in criminal or civil processes.
"The government will not acquire additional assets for the Strategic Reserve beyond those obtained through the forfeiture process," Sacks added.
"The purpose of the Reserve is the responsible management of government digital assets under the Department of the Treasury," he added.
