White House official: Trump wants to buy more Bitcoin

On March 14, according to multiple attendees, at a closed-door roundtable hosted by the Bitcoin Policy Institute on Tuesday, Bo Hines, executive director of the Presidential Digital Asset Task Force, told attendees that the White House intends to acquire as much Bitcoin as possible.

When asked how much Bitcoin the U.S. government might eventually acquire, Hines joked that the question was like asking someone how much money they wanted, one roundtable attendee told Decrypt.

A White House official confirmed to Decrypt that Hines did speak about acquiring as much Bitcoin as possible, but added that any such acquisitions would be made in a "budget-neutral manner" and would not cost taxpayers a penny.

After the public Bitcoin for America policy summit, a private roundtable was held, with heavyweights including Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley, and Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey. In addition, three U.S. senators also attended the meeting: Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).

During the roundtable, one attendee asked Bo Hines whether the White House supports the Bitcoin Act, a bill that Loomis reintroduced in the Senate on Tuesday that would require the U.S. government to purchase 1 million bitcoins, valued at approximately $80 billion, and enshrine into law the strategic bitcoin reserve proposed in President Donald Trump’s recent executive order.

After receiving the question, Hines turned to Loomis, who was sitting next to him, and said the White House planned to support legislation to enshrine the strategic bitcoin reserve into law and would apply pressure to ensure it passed Congress, according to a roundtable attendee.

A White House official stressed to Decrypt that, however, Hines did not endorse any specific legislation during the event.

It is currently estimated that the U.S. government holds nearly 200,000 BTC, acquired through civil and criminal forfeiture. In recent days, senior White House officials have added fuel to the fire, saying they support the government buying more Bitcoin to support the strategic reserve, as long as these acquisitions are "budget neutral."

Whether Loomis’ Bitcoin Act is budget neutral is debatable. The bill would require the U.S. to purchase about $80 billion worth of BTC at current prices, but it would be implemented primarily by requiring the Federal Reserve to turn over revenues, which would theoretically be generated if the central bank revalued its gold certificates at market prices. The last time these certificates were priced was in 1971, when the U.S. abandoned the gold standard. Since then, the value of gold has increased by more than 6,800%.