Treasury Secretary Bessent Announces Advancement on Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and CLARITY Act
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that his department is moving forward "with all deliberate speed" to implement President Donald Trump's 2025 executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve alongside a broader digital asset stockpile.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent informed members of the Senate during a hearing that his department is actively working to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve along with a digital asset stockpile, following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump more than a year ago.
During his testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday regarding Trump's fiscal year 2027 budget proposal for the Treasury Department, Bessent stated that his department was "proceeding with all deliberate speed" to execute the president's 2025 directive establishing reserves for Bitcoin and digital assets. While the reserve currently contains cryptocurrency confiscated by federal authorities, Treasury Department officials indicated as of March that no further acquisition plans were in place.
"We are moving forward very quickly on that, and part of that is our digital assets initiative, the strategic Bitcoin reserve is something, this is new technology, this is new ground, we are proceeding with all deliberate speed, and we are making sure that as we are doing this in this complicated process, that we use best practices and things will be durable for the future,"
Bessent said in response to questions raised by Senator Tim Scott.
The United States government currently maintains holdings of 328,372 BTC within its reserves, representing approximately $215 billion in value at the time of publication. Although members of Congress have attempted to transform Trump's executive order into formal legislation, some individual states including Texas have already enacted laws establishing their own state-level cryptocurrency reserves.
The Treasury Secretary did not provide commentary on whether the $1 billion worth of digital assets confiscated from Iran following the commencement of the US-Israel military conflict against that nation in February had been incorporated into the cryptocurrency reserves. Reports indicate that Iran has been collecting Bitcoin payments from vessels requesting safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz waterway.
Treasury chief expects CLARITY Act could pass this summer
Bessent also responded to inquiries from finance committee chair Mike Crapo regarding the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, which has been under Senate consideration for nearly a year following its approval by the House of Representatives. The Senate Banking and Agriculture committees have each approved their respective versions of the legislation addressing securities and commodities laws and regulatory frameworks, though the full Senate chamber must merge these bills prior to conducting any vote.
"We saw Congress pass stablecoin legislation, CLARITY Act, which I would encourage everyone to get behind — it's very necessary to bring US best practices onshore — and we work tirelessly in terms of custodying these assets and keeping them,"
said the Treasury Secretary.
According to Bessent, the administration has set its sights on Senate passage of the legislation during the summer months. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt indicated in May that President Trump was targeting July 4 for a ceremonial bill signing, though certain senators anticipate the measure will pass before August arrives.