The U.S. Treasury reiterated its position on the limits of its policy on Bitcoin during a hearing held on Wednesday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the U.S. will hold onto the seized Bitcoins but will not order private banks to buy BTC during market correction.
During the hearing, Congressman Brad Sherman posed questions to Bessent on the limits of the U.S. government’s authority on the regulation of the cryptocurrency. Sherman questions whether the Treasury or the Federal Open Market Committee had the authority to “bail out Bitcoin.”
Sherman then asked whether Bessent intended to direct private banks to acquire more BTC or “Trump Coin,” a term for memecoins linked to President Donald Trump. He pressed whether such purchases could be enabled by altering banking reserve requirements.
However, Bessent explained that he does not have the authority to issue such directives. He further added that the position of the chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council does not give him the authority to do so either.
Bessent said the seized Bitcoins held by the U.S. government had risen sharply in value. He stated that the $500 million worth of BTC had appreciated to over $15 billion while in the custody of the U.S. government.
The testimony provided an update on the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The Strategic Reserve was formed through an executive order issued by President Trump in March 2025.
The order allows BTC purchases in the open market. Many had hoped that the government might take stronger action, but the order is based on existing asset flows.
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Some members of the Bitcoin community were critical of the executive order. They claimed that the order was holding back the expansion of federal Bitcoin reserves.
The Treasury Department is exploring ways to obtain more BTC in a budget-neutral manner, according to Bessent in August 2025. This represented a reversal from previous statements suggesting no plans existed.
Earlier this year, Bessent said that the government will no longer sell seized BTC. Instead, all seized cryptocurrency will now be added to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The executive order was addressed by Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow. The increase in government BTC reserves will increase demand, which may lead other nations to create their own BTC reserves.
The move is part of a broader effort to support BTC innovation in the US, according to Mow.
The executive order allows US to acquire more BTC through asset forfeiture and budget-neutral strategies. Budget-neutral strategies involve converting assets such as petroleum and precious metals to BTC.
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