Bitcoin reserve unlikely to buy BTC under Trump, Bitget CEO says
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the chance that the U.S. government will start buying Bitcoin (BTC) for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve before President Donald Trump leaves office is “close to zero.” Chen argued active BTC purchases would require a larger policy shift and political debate in Congress, especially because the March 2025 executive order did not fund regular exchange buying.
The U.S. reserve is estimated at about 198,000 BTC, mainly from forfeiture proceedings. However, the order includes a “no-sale” rule for reserve holdings, which can reduce potential government supply into the market, but it does not create new, recurring demand. Chen said the focus is therefore on the reserve’s budget-neutral acquisition rules rather than political support for crypto.
The directive requires the Treasury and Commerce to devise acquisition strategies that impose no extra taxpayer costs. Any plan involving new federal spending would need congressional approval, while alternative funding ideas—such as revaluing U.S. gold certificates—also require legislation.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously said the government would not buy BTC directly, instead building the reserve via confiscated assets and continuing to “stop selling.” The article notes that investors’ uncertainty remains about the reserve balance because public wallet tracking cannot confirm forfeiture status.
For traders, the key takeaway is that the Bitcoin reserve is more likely to act as a supply-management tool than a near-term buyer of BTC, limiting expectations for immediate spot demand.
Neutral
The article’s central point is that the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is unlikely to become an active buyer of BTC in the next two years. That reduces the likelihood of fresh, predictable spot demand—normally a bullish catalyst. At the same time, the order’s “no-sale” requirement limits potential government selling of existing BTC, which can be mildly supportive by reducing supply over time.
Historically, when official policy signals shift from “buy programs” to “hold/stop-selling” frameworks, markets often react with mixed pricing: sentiment improves around reduced sell-side pressure, but upside typically fades without evidence of sustained accumulation. Similar patterns have appeared in past cycles where ETF/structural demand narratives were stronger than government buy narratives—price action tended to follow whichever demand engine was actually active.
In the short term, traders may treat this as a dampener for BTC upside expectations tied to government spot purchases, while focusing on other demand sources (spot ETFs, exchange inflows, leverage). In the long term, the headline matters less than whether Congress eventually funds or codifies a statutory purchase mechanism. Until then, the reserve likely affects market stability mainly via supply uncertainty, not via guaranteed buyer flows.