Before creating a Bitcoin reserve, the US government will have its crypto holdings audited to see how much it holds.
This Thursday, President Trump directed for the establishment of a Bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile for the other currencies with crypto seized during legal proceedings.
David Sacks believes the government has about 200000 BTC from its seizures
White House Czar David Sacks insisted that a crypto audit is necessary given how they’ve never done one.
According to Sacks, the government has captured over 400,000 Bitcoins in criminal and civil proceedings over the last ten years. He believes the government is still in control of about half of that. However, he says they cannot be certain of the total crypto holdings since they’ve never done a proper audit.
According to Arkham Intelligence, the United States owns roughly $17.5 billion in Bitcoin and about $400 million worth of other digital assets in known digital wallets.
Meanwhile, Trump’s executive order mandates that the Treasury and Commerce Departments find “budget-neutral strategies” to acquire Bitcoin for the reserve, limiting them to forfeited assets for now. The US government will also have seized crypto build its separate digital asset stockpile to avoid incurring extra costs in acquisitions.
Sacks added, “With the reserve, the goal is long-term preservation. With the stockpile, the goal is responsible stewardship.” Nevertheless, he has compared the BTC reserve and the separate digital asset stockpile to “a digital Fort Knox for cryptocurrency,” likening it to the Kentucky military base that holds part of the country’s gold reserves.
However, some crypto analysts and enthusiasts expected Trump to take bolder steps in asset acquisition and are slightly disappointed that the reserve holdings are limited to only seized assets. For instance, Charles Edwards of the Capriole Fund, a Bitcoin and digital asset hedge fund, stated that no active Bitcoin purchases mean that the reserve is just a “fancy title” for already existing assets within the government’s control.
Trump will meet some key crypto leaders soon
President Donald Trump insisted that he wanted to make the US the global crypto capital, and signing this executive order to create a BTC reserve was a step forward for the crypto industry.
So far, the crypto industry has also seen impressive changes in regulations and across regulatory agencies where Trump appointed key crypto supporters. For instance, the Securities and Exchanges Commission has dropped or paused over 10 cases, including its case against crypto exchange Coinbase.
Before Trump authorised the formation of a working group that would recommend and develop policies for cryptocurrencies, the group was also supposed to propose strategies for the government to establish crypto strategic reserves.
Coinbase Global Inc. CEO Brian Armstrong, Strategy CEO Michael Saylor and Vlad Tenev of Robinhood Markets Inc. are scheduled to meet with Trump, Sacks and Bo Hines to discuss more pro-crypto policies.
