U.S. Treasury chief says Washington can’t bail out Bitcoin or order banks to buy it

Congress hears that Treasury can’t bail out Bitcoin or force banks to buy it, even as Trump’s strategic reserve keeps seized BTC that has swelled from $500m to $15b.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress on Wednesday that the Treasury Department has no authority to bail out Bitcoin or direct private banks to purchase the cryptocurrency in the event of a market collapse.

Bessent issues new guidance

Bessent made the statement during testimony before Congress in response to questioning from California Representative Brad Sherman, a critic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Sherman asked whether the Treasury Department or components of the Federal Open Market Committee possess the authority to bail out Bitcoin.

Sherman also inquired whether Bessent plans to direct private banks to acquire Bitcoin or memecoins linked to President Donald Trump through changes to banking reserve requirements.

“I am Treasury Secretary. I do not have the authority to do that, and as chairman of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), I do not have such authority,” Bessent stated, according to the testimony.

Bessent confirmed that the United States will maintain bitcoins acquired through asset seizures. During the testimony, he said the $500 million in bitcoin seized and held by the U.S. government has increased to over $15 billion while in custody.

The testimony provided an update on the Bitcoin strategic reserve initiative, which Trump established through an executive order in March 2025. The executive order stipulates that the United States can acquire additional Bitcoin for the strategic reserve only through asset forfeiture cases or budget-neutral strategies.

Budget-neutral methods do not add expenses to the U.S. budget and include converting existing reserve assets, such as oil or precious metals, into Bitcoin. The restriction means the U.S. government will not acquire additional Bitcoin through open market operations.

In August 2025, Bessent had stated the Treasury Department was exploring the acquisition of Bitcoin through budget-neutral methods, according to previous reports.