TLDR
- Bitget CEO Gracy Chen expects no U.S. Bitcoin purchases before President Trump’s current term ends.
- The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve primarily holds BTC obtained by the federal government through asset forfeitures.
- Additional Bitcoin acquisitions must follow budget-neutral strategies that impose no extra costs on American taxpayers.
- The reserve prevents government-held Bitcoin from being sold, reducing one potential source of market supply.
- Chen says legal and budget constraints make direct U.S. government Bitcoin purchases unlikely under Trump.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen says the U.S. government is unlikely to make direct Bitcoin purchases for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve during President Donald Trump’s current term, despite its pro-crypto policies.
Bitget CEO Sees Low Chance of Direct Bitcoin Purchases
Chen said the structure of the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve makes large government purchases unlikely before Trump leaves office. The reserve was established through an executive order signed on March 6, 2025, and initially capitalized with Bitcoin forfeited through criminal and civil cases.
The executive order does not create a taxpayer-funded Bitcoin purchasing program. Instead, it allows the Treasury and Commerce departments to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional BTC, provided those methods impose no additional costs on taxpayers.
That distinction limits expectations that the Treasury will become a regular buyer in the open market. While the government can explore ways to add Bitcoin, any acquisition must fit within the budget-neutral requirement unless policymakers introduce another funding mechanism.
The reserve currently contains Bitcoin already controlled by the federal government. Public estimates have placed those holdings near 200,000 BTC, although the government has not published a single real-time figure covering every federal wallet.
Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Focuses on Holding Seized BTC
The executive order changed how the federal government treats forfeited Bitcoin by directing that BTC transferred into the reserve should not be sold. Previously, U.S. authorities periodically auctioned cryptocurrency recovered through enforcement actions.
This structure makes the reserve primarily a long-term holding vehicle rather than a conventional sovereign purchasing program. New Bitcoin obtained through qualifying forfeitures can also be added to federal holdings.
Chen’s assessment therefore centers on the gap between creating a national Bitcoin reserve and actively buying BTC. She said the current framework does not provide the type of direct funding needed for regular government purchases.
However, the executive order leaves open the possibility of additional Bitcoin acquisitions through budget-neutral strategies. That means purchases are not legally ruled out, even if Chen considers them unlikely during the current administration.
Bitcoin Reserve Removes Potential Government Selling Pressure
The reserve also changes a source of potential Bitcoin supply. By holding forfeited BTC instead of selling it, the federal government removes the prospect of routine liquidation of reserve assets.
That approach differs from active sovereign Bitcoin accumulation. Countries such as El Salvador have made direct Bitcoin purchases, while Bhutan has accumulated holdings partly through state-linked mining operations.
For the United States, the next step depends on whether officials develop a workable budget-neutral acquisition strategy or Congress establishes another legal route for purchases.
Until then, Chen expects the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to remain focused mainly on retaining Bitcoin the government already controls rather than becoming an active buyer in the market.
