$15 Billion Bitcoin Seizure Exposes Challenges For US Crypto Reserve Strategy
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RUSSIA – 2025/01/29: In this photo illustration, the new Bitcoin token is photographed on US $100 bills featuring Benjamin Franklin. US President Donald Trump on Thursday, January 23, ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency task force tasked with developing proposals for new regulations for digital assets and exploring the possibility of creating a national cryptocurrency reserve. (Photo Illustration by Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Bitcoin promised unhackable, decentralized finance beyond government control. It has become a favorite of criminal networks that operate beyond government reach–and a strategic tool for governments themselves. Tuesday’s US seizure of roughly $15 billion of Bitcoin during a takedown of a massive pig-butchering syndicate reveals the technology’s risks and opportunities. The confiscated Bitcoin–the largest crypto forfeiture in Justice Department history–may test the Trump Administration’s plan for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile. It also exposes the international security risks of world governments entering the crypto markets. EXPLAINING THE BITCOIN STRATEGIC RESERVE AND NATIONAL DIGITAL ASSET STOCKPILE President Trump directed the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a national Digital Asset Stockpile in a March executive order. Both will be funded by assets seized by federal agencies, not new taxpayer money. The order set a deadline for the Treasury Secretary to report on considerations for establishing relevant accounts and the need for supporting legislation. The deadline has now lapsed, although the report may not be public. While investors know almost exactly how much gold the US holds in Fort Knox, it is unclear how much Bitcoin is already available for the strategic reserve. Crypto industry publications estimate that US government-controlled wallets contain $36 billion worth of Bitcoin. However, that number is unverified and may be larger than what will enter the reserve itself. The executive order specifies that…
Filed under: News - @ October 18, 2025 12:29 pm