U.S. Treasury Secretary’s Remarks on “Bitcoin Reserves” Cause Panic, Leading to a $55 Billion Drop in BTC Market Value

08/15/2025

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s Inconsistent Remarks on “Bitcoin Strategic Reserve” Lead to $55 Billion Loss in Bitcoin Market

Recently, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s inconsistent remarks regarding the “Bitcoin Strategic Reserve” resulted in a $55 billion loss in Bitcoin (BTC) market capitalization within just 40 minutes. Although he subsequently clarified his statements and reiterated an intention to purchase BTC in a “budget-neutral” manner, this has sparked significant dissatisfaction from the public.

Bessent’s Comments Trigger Panic in Bitcoin Market

During an interview on August 14, Bessent stated:

“We have entered the 21st century and established a Bitcoin reserve. However, we will not actively purchase BTC but will continue to use seized assets to expand our reserves.”

The market interpreted this statement as “the Treasury will no longer purchase Bitcoin,” leading to a sharp decline in BTC, which plummeted from $121,073 to $118,886, resulting in an immediate evaporation of approximately $55 billion in market capitalization.

Emergency Clarification Fails to Calm Public Anger

About seven hours later, Bessent clarified on Twitter (X):

“The Treasury is still committed to exploring budget-neutral ways to purchase more Bitcoin to expand our reserves, fulfilling President Trump’s promise to make America a global Bitcoin superpower.”

He also reiterated that the current Bitcoin reserves primarily come from government-seized crypto assets.

Industry Criticism: “Just Talk, No Action”

Although the clarification eased some investors’ concerns, dissatisfaction with the government’s “talk without action” attitude is growing in the industry. Eli Nagar, CEO of Bitcoin mining company Braiins, vented on Twitter (X):

“Are you still ‘exploring’? Just exploring without execution looks like shirking responsibility. Please get moving.”

Bitcoin consultant Max Keiser also mocked Bessent’s phrasing of “still exploring,” deeming it untrustworthy.

Bitcoin Reserve Policy Stalled, Lummis Urges Prompt Action

In fact, Trump signed an executive order earlier this year to establish a “Bitcoin Strategic Reserve,” with the initial funding sourced from government-seized crypto assets. The order clearly mentioned that future expansions of Bitcoin purchases would be conducted in a manner that “does not increase taxpayer burden” (i.e., budget-neutral).

However, to date, the Treasury has not put forward a specific execution plan for the “budget-neutral purchase method.” The only concepts currently discussed include:

Revisiting the gold standard certificate system from the U.S. gold standard era
Using tariff revenues as a funding source

Officials have indicated that further purchases of Bitcoin may require Congressional approval, and cryptocurrency-friendly Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis continues to urge Congress to pay attention to her proposed BITCOIN Act.

(Cynthia Lummis: The U.S. will purchase 1 million BTC within five years, with funding allocated from the Fed and Treasury budget)

Government Pledges Not to Sell Existing Holdings

Despite the stagnation in purchasing progress, Bessent also revealed in an interview that the government will not sell its existing Bitcoin in the short term. He indicated that the current market value of the strategic Bitcoin reserves is approximately between $15 billion and $20 billion.

According to statistics, the U.S. government holds about 198,012 BTC, with a market value of approximately $23.5 billion based on current prices.

Risk Warning

Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a high level of risk, and their prices can be extremely volatile, leading to the potential loss of your entire principal. Please carefully assess the risks.