U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the federal government’s Bitcoin holdings are worth between $15 billion and $20 billion, a stockpile built almost entirely from coins forfeited in criminal and civil cases. He added that the Treasury will stop auctioning the cryptocurrency it seizes, reversing a practice that has sent thousands of coins to market over the past decade. Speaking earlier on Fox Business, Bessent ruled out outright government purchases of Bitcoin, saying the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve created in President Donald Trump’s March executive order would be expanded only through future confiscations. The comments briefly dashed months of speculation that Washington might become a large buyer of the token. Hours later, Bessent clarified the position in a post on the social-media platform X, writing that the Treasury is “committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve.” Potential mechanisms could include sales of other assets or swaps that would not add to federal spending, although no timetable or funding source was specified. Bessent also said the department is not considering a revaluation of U.S. gold holdings, indicating that any future Bitcoin acquisitions would rely on reallocating existing resources rather than monetising bullion. The twin messages leave the government’s crypto strategy open-ended, with its current holdings already placing the United States among the world’s largest known owners of Bitcoin.