Key Points
- Donald Trump, a presidential candidate, advocates for the U.S. government to retain all seized Bitcoin.
- Trump’s proposed policy could make the U.S. one of the largest Bitcoin holders worldwide.
Donald Trump, who is running for president, supports cryptocurrencies and believes that the U.S. government should not sell its Bitcoin holdings.
During a podcast with Adin Ross, Trump discussed the recent sale of Bitcoin (BTC) by the U.S. government. He was asked whether he would support cryptocurrencies if he won the November 2024 election.
Trump’s Stance on Bitcoin
Trump responded by stating that his administration would retain 100% of all Bitcoin currently held or acquired by the U.S. government in the future, if he were elected.
He praised Bitcoin as “very modern” and likened it to artificial intelligence. Trump also warned that if the U.S. does not innovate in the digital assets sector, other countries, including China, will take the lead.
U.S. Government’s Bitcoin Holdings
Analysts from the Arkham Intelligence platform estimate that the U.S. government had over 210,000 BTC in the spring, making it one of the largest Bitcoin holders.
The U.S. government also had approximately $200 million in other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), as well as Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) stablecoins.
In June, $243 million in BTC was transferred from a government address to the Coinbase exchange. These funds were seized from Banmeet Singh, a darknet market operator who admitted to drug trafficking and money laundering.
The U.S. Marshals Service has been selling seized BTC through closed auctions since 2014. However, in late June, it was announced that the U.S. Marshals Service had selected Coinbase Prime to store and trade seized cryptocurrency.
The Coinbase Prime brokerage platform enables clients to store, buy, sell, and invest in cryptocurrencies. It is also the primary partner for most spot crypto ETFs.
At the Bitcoin 2024 conference, Trump announced his intention to establish a strategic reserve of Bitcoin. He stressed that cryptocurrencies could be crucial for the country’s economic competitiveness and pledged never to sell bitcoins seized by the U.S. government.
Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis supported Trump’s statement and revealed plans to propose a bill to purchase 1 million BTC for the U.S. Treasury.
Countries often acquire BTC through confiscation rather than buying it on the open market. Governments are among the largest Bitcoin holders due to seizures from criminals.
Of all the countries holding Bitcoin, only El Salvador actively buys and mines this cryptocurrency. Despite never officially purchasing cryptocurrency, governments of large countries have accumulated crypto assets worth billions of dollars through confiscations from criminals.
The U.S. government is considered the largest Bitcoin holder among all countries. China is second on the list with reserves estimated at 190,000 BTC. The United Kingdom is in third place with reserves estimated at 61,000 BTC.
Trump believes that storing assets will become the core of the BTC strategic national reserve. He is confident that Bitcoin will surpass gold and silver in market capitalization. However, Bitcoin reserves do have drawbacks, such as significant volatility. Despite this, BTC reserves can offer diversification benefits and provide alternative assets outside of traditional centralized financial systems.
