US designates bitcoin as a national reserve asset
The trend towards safe-haven reserves is now spilling into digital assets, as sovereign institutions begin to diversify beyond bullion and major currencies. Bitcoin is increasingly being discussed as a complementary reserve alongside gold.
In the United States, Senator Cynthia Lummis has said that budget allocation for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve “can start anytime”, building on President Donald Trump’s executive order establishing bitcoin as a national reserve asset funded by seized digital holdings.
Under the order, the Treasury manages roughly 200,000 BTC, worth around US$17 billion at recent prices. The framework is designed to be budget-neutral, relying on confiscated assets.
The US House’s draft 2026 appropriations bill requires the Treasury to report within 90 days on the custody of these assets, standards for managing them, and the use of AI tools to enforce sanctions.
It also prohibits spending on a Federal Reserve central bank digital currency (CBDC). But there is still no legal requirement for the government to buy additional bitcoin beyond what it seizes, leaving the future path of US bitcoin reserves open to debate.
Economic modelling by asset manager VanEck suggests that if the US were to accumulate 1 million bitcoins by 2029, the reserve could offset around 18% of US public debt by 2049.
Analysts at CoinShares argue that such holdings could bolster America’s technological leadership and act as a hedge against inflation, while economists at Chainalysis warn that simultaneous accumulation by multiple countries could strain market liquidity and volatility.
Countries race to build bitcoin reserves
On November 20, Texas became the first US state to buy bitcoin for its treasury, investing US$10 million via BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF after a short-term price dip towards US$87,000.
The move reflects growing interest among sub-national governments in treating bitcoin as a strategic asset rather than a purely speculative one.
The momentum is not limited to the US. In Taiwan, legislators have called on the government to review the country’s bitcoin exposure and consider adding digital assets to its strategic reserves.Premier Cho Jung-tai has pledged to deliver a detailed report by year-end.
Lawmakers argue that Taiwan’s heavy reliance on US-dollar assets – which account for more than 90% of its US$602.94 billion in foreign reserves – poses concentration risks that bitcoin and other assets could help mitigate.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank expect bitcoin to appear on central bank balance sheets by 2030, sitting alongside gold as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical risk.
As countries accelerate their accumulation of both traditional safe-haven assets and digital assets, the international reserve landscape may be heading for a historic transformation.