U.S. Bitcoin Reserves

Analyst Jiang Jinze discussed how the U.S. might acquire more Bitcoin for its strategic reserve, particularly if it runs out of seized BTC.

Jinze, the founder of Muse Labs, highlighted that only 100,000 BTC of the total owned by the U.S. government can be considered actual reserves, as nearly 50% must be returned to Bitfinex due to a federal court ruling in January 2025 which stated that 94,643 of the BTC stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex hack should be returned to the exchange.

He remarked, “In addition, most of these were confiscated in the early days when Bitcoin was worthless. It may take a long time to confiscate the same amount of coins in the future.”

To acquire more Bitcoin without taxpayer funds, Jinze suggested a few alternatives:
– Selling Gold: He recommended trading gold to increase U.S. BTC holdings, citing the historical connection between the two assets.
– Selling Other Assets: The government could also consider selling land, buildings, licenses, and other types of assets, though options are limited.
– Redistributing Existing Assets: Utilizing income from gold reserves or Federal Reserve deposits could finance Bitcoin purchases.
– Mining Bitcoin: Jinze proposed utilizing underutilized computing resources or energy to mine Bitcoin, referencing Bhutan’s example of government-operated crypto mining.

David Sacks, following the White House Crypto Summit on March 7, stated that the U.S. government would not use taxpayer money to buy BTC but would rely on already seized assets. He mentioned that the government holds about 200,000 BTC, though this amount has not been independently audited.

Read more: Trump signs executive order establishing a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve