Bessent Backtracks on Bitcoin: Treasury Committed to 'Budget-Neutral' BTC Buys

After saying earlier Thursday that the United States would not purchase Bitcoin for its planned strategic reserve, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent apparently had a change of heart, again leaving the door open for potential purchases.

"Bitcoin that has been finally forfeited to the federal government will be the foundation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that President Trump established in his March Executive Order," he wrote on X. "In addition, Treasury is committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve, and to execute on the President’s promise to make the United States the 'Bitcoin superpower of the world.'"

Bessent said on Fox Business earlier Thursday that "we’re not going to be buying that," in reference to Bitcoin for a strategic U.S. reserve. The comments contradicted previous statements from officials in the Trump administration.

Established via executive order in March, Bessent said earlier on Thursday that the U.S. held between $15 billion and $20 billion worth of Bitcoin in its strategic reserve, and the government wouldn’t be buying Bitcoin to pad out that stash—rather only holding on to seized funds.

The comments sparked outrage among some industry onlookers, with one viral X post claiming that “the Washington crypto lobby lied” about the initiative that represented one of President Donald Trump’s biggest overtures to the crypto industry.

Bitcoin hardly budged following Bessent’s revised remarks, changing hands around $118,000 on Thursday afternoon, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. Over the past 24 hours, its price has fallen 3.9%, from an all-time above $124,000 the day before.

The Trump administration has shifted direction on crypto initiatives before. On the campaign trail, Trump initially floated a Bitcoin stockpile, but the initiative was later expanded to include other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano.

Ultimately, Trump’s executive orders created a strategic Bitcoin reserve that is separate from a digital asset stockpile containing other cryptocurrencies.

White House Crypto Czar David Sacks told Decrypt in March that it was up to Bessent and U.S. Commerce Secretary to Howard Lutnick to “determine if there are budget-neutral ways of adding to our Bitcoin reserve,” but so far, neither have given specifics.

Editor's note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.