US government unlikely to buy Bitcoin for Strategic Reserve, says Bitget CEO

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve sounds like something that should come with a giant “BUY” button. It doesn’t. And according to one of crypto’s most prominent exchange CEOs, it probably never will under this administration. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen says the US government is unlikely to purchase Bitcoin for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve before Trump leaves office, despite the president’s vocal pro-crypto posturing. The reason is less about political will and more about how the reserve was actually designed. What the reserve actually does (and doesn’t do) Trump signed the executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve on March 6, 2025. The name suggests a Fort Knox for the digital age. The reality is considerably more modest. The SBR holds an estimated 198,000 BTC, valued at roughly $17.3 billion. That’s approximately 1% of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply. Not nothing, but not exactly a sovereign wealth fund either. Here’s the critical detail most people gloss over: the reserve is limited exclusively to Bitcoin seized through civil and criminal forfeiture proceedings. The executive order explicitly prohibits new acquisitions using taxpayer funds. It also bars any sales of th...