The comments came during Bessent’s Congressional testimony on Wednesday in a tense exchange with California Representative Brad Sherman.
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before Congress on Wednesday and reiterated that the US will retain Bitcoin (BTC) acquired through asset seizures but will not direct private banks to purchase more BTC in the event of a market downturn.
California Congressman Brad Sherman, a major critic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, asked Bessent: “Does the Treasury Department or the various components of the Federal Open Market Committee have the authority to bail out Bitcoin?”
Sherman then asked Bessent if he plans to direct private banks to acquire more BTC or “Trump Coin,” a reference to memecoins connected to US President Donald Trump, through changing banking reserve requirements to allow them to buy more. Bessent said:
Bessent added that the $500 million in seized Bitcoin retained by the US government surged to over $15 billion while in custody.
The testimony is the latest update on the Bitcoin strategic reserve initiative, which was established by Trump through an executive order in March 2025. However, the order has drawn backlash from some in the Bitcoin community, who say it did not go far enough.
