Trump adviser wants to fund Bitcoin reserve with import duties
The White House is actively weighing ways to expand the U.S. Bitcoin reserve without increasing the burden on the treasury.
In the White House, officials are actively weighing ways to expand the American Bitcoin reserve without overburdening the Treasury. A notable proposal comes from Bo Hines, the director of digital assets under Donald Trump: funding Bitcoin purchases with proceeds from trade levies. According to Hines, this is a "budget-neutral" solution.
The proposal puts pressure on an earlier initiative by Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, who, through the so-called Bitcoin Act, advocates for a strategic national reserve. In an interview with crypto expert Anthony Pompliano, Hines explained: “We’re sitting down to work these ideas out further and really come up with the best solution.”
During his campaign, Donald Trump promised to establish a national Bitcoin reserve. After taking office, however, the plan has largely remained quiet. The United States’ only digital assets to date have been cryptocurrencies seized in federal investigations.
Still, on March 6, 2025, a first formal step was taken: Trump signed an Executive Order establishing both a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a so-called US Digital Asset Stockpile.
According to data from Arkham Intelligence, the White House currently holds almost 200,000 BTC — worth an estimated $17 billion. This reserve is entirely comprised of seized Bitcoin. So far there are no official plans to actively expand these assets.
Beyond Bitcoin, the US Digital Asset Stockpile also includes other cryptocurrencies like Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), and Cardano (ADA). This is a sore spot for so-called Bitcoin maximalists, who argue the government should focus only on Bitcoin.
With Hines’s new proposal, there appears to be renewed momentum in the debate over how the United States wants to strengthen its position in the world of digital assets — all without extra burden on taxpayers.
