Trump Administration Aims to Acquire Maximum Bitcoin, Says White House

This week, a representative from the White House informed a group of leaders in the cryptocurrency sector that the Trump administration aims to acquire as much Bitcoin as possible.

During a private roundtable held by the Bitcoin Policy Institute on Tuesday, Bo Hines, executive director of the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets, conveyed to attendees the White House’s commitment to acquiring as much Bitcoin as feasible, as reported by several participants.

When a participant inquired about the potential amount of Bitcoin the U.S. government might acquire, Hines jested that it was like asking someone how much money they would want, according to one attendee who spoke to Decrypt.

A White House source confirmed to Decrypt that Hines did make the remark about acquiring as much Bitcoin as possible, but mentioned that any such acquisitions would be conducted “in a budget neutral way that doesn’t cost the taxpayers a dime.”

The private gathering followed a public “Bitcoin for America” policy summit and included notable figures in the Bitcoin space, such as Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley, and Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey. Three U.S. senators were also present: Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Bernie Moreno (R-OH).

At one moment during the discussion, a participant queried Bo Hines about the White House’s position on the Bitcoin Act—a legislative proposal reintroduced by Lummis in the Senate on Tuesday, which would mandate the U.S. government to purchase up to one million BTC, currently valued at about $80 billion, and would formalize the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve set up by President Donald Trump’s recent executive order.

Following the question, Hines reportedly turned to Lummis, who was seated next to him, and stated that the White House intends to support legislation that solidifies a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into law and will advocate for its passage in Congress.

A White House representative clarified to Decrypt that, however, Hines did not endorse any specific legislation during the session.

Currently, it is estimated that the U.S. government holds nearly 200,000 BTC, acquired through civil and criminal forfeitures. Senior White House officials have been vocal in recent days about their support for the government purchasing additional Bitcoin to strengthen a strategic reserve, provided that such transactions remain “budget neutral.”

Whether Lummis’ Bitcoin Act can truly be deemed budget neutral is a subject of debate. The proposal suggests that the U.S. buy approximately $80 billion worth of BTC at current prices, mainly by compelling the Federal Reserve to redirect revenues that would ostensibly be generated if the central bank were to revalue its gold certificates at market rates. The certificates were last evaluated in 1971, coinciding with the U.S. departure from the gold standard, a time when gold’s value has surged by over 6,800%.