US Treasury Secretary Bessent Doubles Down: ’No Bitcoin in Our Reserves’

Washington draws a hard line in the sand—while the private sector piles into crypto, the feds won't touch it.

The Sovereign BTC Stance

Bessent's declaration cuts through the noise of institutional adoption hype. No Fed custody, no Treasury bags—just old-school fiat orthodoxy.

Market Reactions

Traders shrug off the news as Bitcoin holds above $40K. 'Governments move at geological speeds,' quips a hedge fund manager while adjusting his cold storage allocations.

The Irony Alert

Meanwhile, three IRS agents were spotted taking an advanced Chainalysis certification course—because nothing says 'we're not involved' like tripling your crypto-tracking budget.

Bessent estimated the current reserve to be worth between $15 billion and $20 billion, with estimates independently calculated wildly. Arkham Intelligence estimates US holdings at as much as 198,022 BTC, worth more than $24 billion, but other estimates put the hoard lower.

The strategic reserve of Bitcoin, given legal authority by President Donald Trump in March, is built from cryptocurrency that has been confiscated as part of criminal investigations. 

Bessent’s statement is a departure from earlier rumors the administration WOULD fund future purchases with tariff income or some other method.

Bessent swore that the government would hold onto its existing Bitcoin as a long-term “store of value” saying White House crypto advisor David Sacks’ description of the reserve as a “digital Fort Knox.”.

The rout was supported by better-than-forecast US Producer Price Index (PPI) data, raising further the threat of persistent inflation and tighter monetary policy. The broader digital asset market fell nearly 3%, with aggregate market value temporarily falling below $4 trillion.

Thursday’s fall, even so, might be too little to counter long-term Bitcoin demand driven by US debt, now well over $37 trillion, in the view of some analysts.

Also Read: Crypto Price Today (August 14): Market Hits $4T, RAY Rises While Top Tokens Lose Momentum