Bessent: US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Plan is Steadily Progressing

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated during a Senate Finance Committee hearing that the Treasury Department is proceeding with "deliberate speed" to implement Trump's executive order on establishing a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve. He emphasized that the department will adopt "best practices" to ensure the long-term sustainability of the relevant mechanisms. Bessent noted that the strategic Bitcoin reserve is a new frontier and its implementation is quite complex, hence the government is carefully formulating the custody and management framework. Currently, the U.S. government holds approximately 328,400 Bitcoins, valued at about $20.6 billion, primarily obtained from seizures in criminal and civil cases.

Additionally, Bessent called on Congress to advance the digital asset market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, arguing that the legislation is crucial for maintaining U.S. leadership in digital asset innovation. The bill aims to clarify the regulatory framework for digital assets and define when crypto tokens should be subject to securities or commodities regulations. The relevant legislation has now entered the Senate review process. (Decrypt)