Is the U.S. government getting into Bitcoin mining?

Donald Trump wants to make the US the 'crypto capital of the world,' but doesn't want to spend taxpayer money.

Donald Trump wants to make the US the 'crypto capital of the world,' but doesn't want to spend taxpayer money. Why Bitcoin mining could be the solution.

After issuing Trump's Executive Order to set up a strategic reserve, there was silence. So far the US has not pulled in any extra BTC. According to Fred Thiel, CEO of Bitcoin-mining giant Marathon, that's a missed opportunity.

“I think it's crucial,” Thiel says about buying Bitcoin for the reserve. “The US's plan to build a strategic reserve rings hollow if you don't add to it.”

His advice to the Republican administration: take a stake in the Bitcoin mining business yourself. During a panel discussion at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, he called this approach a “budget-neutral acquisition strategy.”

Trump had previously stressed that he doesn’t want to use taxpayer money to buy BTC. So the Marathon CEO points to “surplus hydroelectric power” that could let the government mine Bitcoin itself and boost its reserve.

According to BitcoinTreasuries, the US currently holds about 198,000 BTC, worth $21 billion. For comparison: Bitcoin miners generally mine about 450 BTC daily, which comes to roughly 164,000 BTC per year.

Another proposal for a budget-neutral BTC acquisition comes from Senator Cynthia Lummis. According to her: “We have enough power in underperforming assets to secure five percent of all Bitcoin without spending a single cent.”

Instead of mining Bitcoin, she suggests selling gold from the infamous Fort Knox. The US currently owns more than 8,100 tons of the precious metal, a reserve worth about $866 billion.

With only 10 percent of that amount, you could buy more than 800,000 BTC right now. That’s why the senator says her plan is realistic and emphasizes: “The impact on the U.S. balance sheet is virtually neutral.”