Bitcoin News Today: U.S. Official Considers Funding Bitcoin Reserve With $70 Billion Tariff Surplus

The U.S. government should consider funding a Bitcoin strategic reserve using the surplus from trade tariffs, according to Adam Livingston, author of The Bitcoin Age and The Great Harvest [1]. He argues that a portion of the monthly tariff surpluses—such as the $70 billion currently unallocated as of July—could be directed toward acquiring Bitcoin stored in secure, cold storage. This approach, he suggests, would align with President Donald Trump’s executive order, which mandates that any additional Bitcoin acquisitions must be done on a budget-neutral basis [1].

Livingston emphasized that the tariff surplus is not pre-allocated to other government expenditures like Medicare or debt service, making it an ideal candidate for a non-tradable, non-staked, and non-leveraged Bitcoin reserve. “We’re sitting on a $70 billion surplus from tariffs, and we haven’t even finished the fiscal year,” he stated, highlighting the potential scale of the opportunity [1].

The proposal has sparked mixed reactions within the government. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent initially dismissed the idea of purchasing new Bitcoin for the strategic reserve, stating that the government would instead rely on confiscated digital assets for its holdings. However, he later clarified that budget-neutral pathways to increasing the reserve are still under consideration [2]. This shift reflects the fluidity of policy around digital assets and the Treasury’s cautious yet open approach.

Budget-neutral strategies—such as revaluing gold reserves or reallocating existing assets—have been proposed as alternative methods to expand the Bitcoin reserve without increasing the federal budget [2]. These strategies aim to maintain fiscal neutrality while leveraging the growing importance of Bitcoin in the global financial system.

The timing of these discussions is significant. Bitcoin has recently experienced notable price swings, trading around $118,000 late Thursday after dropping from a high of $124,000 hours earlier. This volatility has been partially attributed to strong Producer Price Index (PPI) data, which has raised doubts about the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September [2]. As macroeconomic conditions evolve, so too does the feasibility of large-scale Bitcoin acquisitions by the government.

Analyst Edan Yago, co-founder of BitcoinOS, has argued that the creation of a national Bitcoin reserve is “inevitable,” signaling a growing consensus on the strategic value of the asset [3]. Others suggest that trade policies under the Trump administration have reshaped global trade dynamics, increasing the strategic value of tariff revenue and reinforcing the case for using it to fund a Bitcoin reserve as a hedge against economic uncertainty [4].

As the conversation continues, the integration of Bitcoin into national economic policy is no longer seen as a fringe idea but a legitimate topic of discussion among policymakers and market participants. Whether the U.S. government will move forward with funding a strategic Bitcoin reserve using tariff surpluses remains uncertain, but the proposal has already contributed to a broader debate about the future of digital assets in public finance.

Source:

[1] title1 (https://www.tradingview.com/news/cointelegraph:10cc49958094b:0-us-should-fund-bitcoin-strategic-reserve-with-tariff-surplus-author/)

[2] title2 (https://cryptoadventure.com/scott-bessent-suggests-government-bitcoin-purchases-remain-a-possibility/)

[3] title3 (https://cryptodnes.bg/en/tag/bitcoin/page/35/)

[4] title4 (https://www.ainvest.com/news/trump-trade-policies-iowa-agricultural-crossroads-navigating-risks-opportunities-tariff-driven-era-2508/)