Bitcoin hit a bump Thursday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the government will not be buying more Bitcoin for its strategic reserve, which caused its price to crash below the $120,000.
Speaking on Fox Business, Bessent revealed, “We’ve also started to move into the 21st century, a Bitcoin reserve. We’re not going to be buying that, but we are going to use assets seized and keep building that. We’re going to stop selling them.”
Following Bessent’s comments, the cryptocurrency’s price fell to as low as $117,955. The broader digital asset market also saw a decline of nearly 3%.
Bessent estimated the current reserve to be worth between $15 billion and $20 billion, with estimates independently calculated wildly. Arkham Intelligence estimates US holdings at as much as 198,022 BTC, worth more than $24 billion, but other estimates put the hoard lower.
The strategic reserve of Bitcoin, given legal authority by President Donald Trump in March, is built from cryptocurrency that has been confiscated as part of criminal investigations.
Bessent’s statement is a departure from earlier rumors the administration would fund future purchases with tariff income or some other method.
Bessent swore that the government would hold onto its existing Bitcoin as a long-term “store of value” saying White House crypto advisor David Sacks’ description of the reserve as a “digital Fort Knox.”.
The rout was supported by better-than-forecast US Producer Price Index (PPI) data, raising further the threat of persistent inflation and tighter monetary policy. The broader digital asset market fell nearly 3%, with aggregate market value temporarily falling below $4 trillion.
Thursday’s fall, even so, might be too little to counter long-term Bitcoin demand driven by US debt, now well over $37 trillion, in the view of some analysts.
Also Read: Treasury Secretary Bessent Says US Might Expand Bitcoin Reserve
