Key Points
- President Trump has signed Executive Orders to regulate digital assets and establish a Bitcoin reserve.
- Bo Hines, director of Trump’s digital assets council, confirmed plans to increase America’s Bitcoin holdings.
President Trump has initiated two Executive Orders since assuming office on January 20, aiming to regulate digital assets and establish the US’s first Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. These measures aim to fulfill the promises he made to the crypto voting block.
The second order, issued on March 6, authorized an audit of the current American BTC holdings, which are believed to be around 200,000 tokens. It also suggested using “budget neutral” strategies to potentially purchase more Bitcoin, easing concerns about additional burden on the national deficit.
Increasing Bitcoin Reserves
On March 18, Bo Hines, the executive director of Trump’s presidential council on digital assets, reaffirmed this plan at a Blockworks event in New York. Discussing BTC plans at the White House, Hines emphasized the importance for the U.S. to “have, retain, and build on” its Bitcoin reserves, often referred to as digital gold due to its store of value trait.
Hines also confirmed that Trump’s administration was actively exploring ways to acquire more BTC. “I get asked all the time how much (BTC) you want. Well, that’s like asking a country how much gold do you want? As much as we can get,” Hines stated.
US Bitcoin Portfolio
The U.S. currently holds the title of the world’s largest nation-state BTC holder by a few thousand tokens. However, this position might change due to a filing from the Department of Justice.
The entirety of America’s Bitcoin portfolio is made up of criminal seizures from cases like Silk Road and Bitfinex. In the Bitfinex case, the DOJ proposed returning about 95,000 BTC stolen from the crypto exchange in 2026. Should a judge approve this motion, the U.S. would fall behind China in BTC wealth, becoming only the second-largest sovereign BTC holder.