The comments came during Bessent’s congressional testimony on Wednesday in a tense exchange with California Representative Brad Sherman.
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. will retain Bitcoin (BTC) acquired through asset seizures but will not order private banks to buy BTC to prop up the market. During the hearing, Rep. Brad Sherman — a longtime critic of Bitcoin and crypto — asked whether the Treasury or any component of the Federal Open Market Committee had authority to “bail out Bitcoin.”
Sherman pressed Bessent further, asking if he planned to direct banks to acquire more BTC or “Trump Coin” (a reference to memecoins tied to former President Donald Trump) by changing reserve requirements. Bessent replied bluntly: “I am secretary of the Treasury. I do not have the authority to do that, and as chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), I do not have that authority.”
Bessent also noted that roughly $500 million in Bitcoin seized by the U.S. government had appreciated to more than $15 billion while in government custody.
The exchange is the latest development around the U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve, created by an executive order signed by Trump in March 2025. That order allows the government to increase the reserve only via asset forfeiture cases or budget-neutral strategies — methods that do not add line-item expenses to the federal budget, such as converting existing reserve assets (for example petroleum or precious metals) into Bitcoin. The order does not permit direct open-market purchases of BTC by the government.
In August 2025, Bessent said the Treasury was exploring budget-neutral ways to acquire Bitcoin, marking a shift from earlier statements. Some in the Bitcoin community hoped for open-market purchases to support the asset; others criticized the executive order as insufficient. Advocates have warned that active U.S. buying could create demand that lifts prices and might prompt other countries to form their own strategic Bitcoin reserves.
Related reporting has covered the handling of Bitcoin forfeited in cases such as the Samourai matter and broader debate over the strategic reserve’s implications for markets and policy.
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