In latest Bitcoin news, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has indicated the United States government could potentially purchase additional Bitcoin if funding can be secured through budget-neutral means.
Speaking at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, David Sacks shared specific conditions to be met for expanded government Bitcoin acquisition beyond the current Strategic Digital Asset Reserve.
Government Departments Hold Key to Bitcoin Expansion Plans
David Sacks shared the specific pathway for potential government Bitcoin purchases during his discussion with Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
He explained that while he cannot promise anything definitive, existing presidential authorization could allow for additional Bitcoin acquisition under certain conditions.
The key requirement includes convincing either Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick or Treasury Secretary Scott Besson to approve and fund Bitcoin purchases without creating new taxes or adding to the national debt.
Sacks suggested that funding could potentially come from redirecting money from other government programs that are not currently using their allocated resources.
Sacks explained during the conference,
“The question is, can we get either the Treasury Department or the Commerce Department to get excited about that because if they do and they can figure out how to fund it, they actually do have presidential authorization.”
The March 6 executive order that established the crypto reserve initially focused on holding Bitcoin obtained through criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.
However, according to David Sacks, this same executive order contains provisions that would allow the government to purchase additional Bitcoin if done through budget-neutral means.
US Bitcoin Holdings from Major Seizures Worth Over $21 Billion
As per recent Bitcoin news updates, the United States currently holds approximately 198,012 Bitcoin valued at over $21 billion at current Bitcoin prices. This is as per an April report from CoinGecko. The majority of these holdings originated from law enforcement seizures connected to various criminal activities and illegal marketplaces.
The largest portion of the government’s Bitcoin stash came from two major seizures related to the Silk Road online marketplace. In November 2020, authorities seized 69,370 Bitcoin. This was followed by another seizure in March 2022 that netted 51,351 Bitcoin from the same criminal enterprise.
Another substantial addition to the government’s Bitcoin reserves occurred on January 31, 2022. At this point, Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein had 94,636 Bitcoin confiscated by the authorities.
Authorities were able to access Lichtenstein’s cloud storage account, which made the seizure possible. About 2,000 cryptocurrency wallet addresses and the secret keys that go with them were stored in these files. Sacks stated,
“So if we can convince Howard Lutnick, who’s Commerce Secretary, or Scott Besson, who’s the Treasury Secretary, to buy some, and they can figure out how to fund it—without a new tax or adding to the debt, maybe by finding the money from some other program that’s not using it—then we could potentially acquire more Bitcoin.”
The US Department of Justice was granted permission to sell 198,109 Bitcoin in January. The government had previously only sold a tiny amount, selling 9,861 Bitcoin for $215.7 million in March 2023.
Trump Administration Pushes Aggressive Crypto Policy Agenda
David Sacks highlighted the Trump administration’s comprehensive approach to changing US cryptocurrency policy during his appearance at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, in recent news.
During the first few days of President Trump’s administration, the crypto czar revealed a number of significant initiatives.
Sacks shared the timeline of early administration moves and noted that on Trump’s first full day in office, he pardoned Ross Ulbricht. An executive order to bring forward US leadership in crypto was signed by the president two days later.
This prohibited central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), ended Operation Choke Point 2.0, and created the President’s Working Group on digital assets.
In order to promote the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries, the administration has also concentrated on increasing energy output. David Sacks explained that both technologies need substantial electricity.
He told the audience during his discussion with the Winklevoss twins,
“One of the common denominators between AI and Bitcoin is that you need energy. You need power.”
