The Trump administration is looking for ways to grow its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve without adding to the national budget.
Bo Hines, the head of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, shared that the White House’s crypto team is exploring creative methods to acquire more Bitcoin.
“There’s been countless ideas,” Hines said on the Crypto in America podcast. One idea gaining attention is using gains from gold certificates, which are currently undervalued compared to the actual price of gold.
Hines pointed to Senator Cynthia Lummis’ BITCOIN Act of 2025, which proposes adjusting the value of gold certificates held by the Federal Reserve. “If we actually realize the gains on [these holdings], that would be a budget-neutral way to acquire more Bitcoin,” Hines explained.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, gold certificates are priced at just $42.22 per ounce, even though gold is trading at over $3,000 per ounce.
Bill proposes that the Fed should transfer all outstanding certificates to the Treasury which would then issue new certificates at market value. This change could generate significant funds without burdening taxpayers.
President Trump’s March 6 executive order also emphasized budget-neutral strategies for increasing the government’s Bitcoin holdings.
“I just don’t want to box us in yet to what that actually looks like because I want to be able to hear from everybody,” Hines stated, keeping the door open for other suggestions. The U.S. government already holds about 207,000 Bitcoin, mostly seized from criminal cases, making it the largest nation-state holder of the cryptocurrency.
Hines stressed that Bitcoin is unique and should be treated differently from other digital assets. “Bitcoin is different. It’s unique; it’s a commodity, not a security,” he said. White House officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, have also defended Bitcoin’s special status, separating it from other cryptocurrencies.
The administration is working on bipartisan legislation to regulate digital assets. Representative Ro Khanna mentioned that Congress could pass a stablecoin bill and a broader crypto market structure bill this year.
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