The remarks came throughout Bessent’s Congressional testament on Wednesday in a tense exchange with California Agent Brad Sherman.
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before Congress on Wednesday and reiterated that the US will retain Bitcoin (BTC) acquired through asset seizures but will not direct private banks to purchase more BTC in the event of a market downturn.
California Congressman Brad Sherman, a major critic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, asked Bessent: “Does the Treasury Department or the various components of the Federal Open Market Committee have the authority to bail out Bitcoin?”
Sherman then asked Bessent if he plans to direct private banks to acquire more BTC or “Trump Coin,” a reference to memecoins connected to US President Donald Trump, through changing banking reserve requirements to allow them to buy more. Bessent said:
“I am Secretary of the Treasury. I do not have the authority to do that, and as chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), I do not have that authority.”
Bessent added that the $500 million in seized Bitcoin retained by the US government surged to over $15 billion while in custody.
The testimony is the latest update on the Bitcoin strategic reserve initiative, which was established by Trump through an executive order in March 2025. However, the order has drawn backlash from some in the Bitcoin community, who say it did not go far enough.
Related: DOJ didn’t sell Bitcoin forfeited from Samourai case: White House advisor
US to acquire more Bitcoin through budget-neutral strategies only
Trump’s executive order stipulated that the US could only acquire more BTC for the strategic reserve through asset forfeiture cases or budget-neutral strategies.
Budget-neutral methods do not add line-item expenses to the US budget and include converting other existing reserve assets, such as petroleum or precious metals, to Bitcoin.
This means the US government will not acquire additional BTC in open market operations, as many in the Bitcoin community had hoped.
In August 2025, Bessent said the Treasury Department is exploring acquiring BTC through budget-neutral methods, backtracking on previous comments.
The US government actively buying BTC creates demand for the digital currency, which may raise asset prices and potentially send a signal to other nation-states to establish their own strategic reserves, according to Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow.
Magazine: US risks being ‘front run’ on Bitcoin reserve by other nations: Samson Mow