A senior official from the White House recently revealed that the Trump administration is considering a revaluation of old gold certificates as a strategy to enhance the nation’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings without increasing the federal deficit. During an interview on the Crypto in America podcast, Bo Hines, who heads the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, stated that the administration is exploring budget-neutral methods to acquire more Bitcoin for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The government currently holds approximately 207,000 BTC, primarily through forfeitures, making it the largest known Bitcoin holder among countries.
Gold Revaluation
According to Hines, the administration is considering various creative strategies to accumulate more Bitcoin. He mentioned:
“There’s been countless ideas… If it’s budget neutral and doesn’t cost the taxpayer a dime, we’ll see whatever creative ideas we can come up with.”
One proposal gaining attention is to recognize the full market value of gold-backed certificates, which are currently valued at a fixed price of $42.22 per ounce—a figure that hasn’t changed since the early 1970s. With gold now trading above $3,000 an ounce, the potential difference could represent a significant financial boost for Bitcoin acquisition.
This concept aligns with the BITCOIN Act of 2025, proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis, which calls for the Federal Reserve to return outstanding gold certificates to the Treasury, allowing them to be reissued at their actual market value.
Supporters believe that this revaluation could generate billions in unrealized gains, which could then be used to strengthen the federal Bitcoin reserve. Lawmakers are currently working on bipartisan efforts to advance this legislation.
Hines indicated that discussions are still ongoing, and no final decisions have been made yet:
“We’re going to hear some tremendous ideas about how we can do it. I just don’t want to box us in yet to what that actually looks like because I want to be able to hear from everybody.”
Unique Asset
Hines emphasized that the administration views Bitcoin as a unique asset class with distinct characteristics separate from other digital currencies. Its decentralized nature and fixed supply make it particularly appealing as a long-term store of value. He noted:
“David [Sacks] likes to say it has the immaculate conception, meaning there’s no issuer. It has intrinsic stored value, and it’s traditionally accepted store of value as well. We wanted to make that distinction between stockpile and reserve.”
The administration’s strategy includes separate approaches for Bitcoin and other altcoins, which will be managed under different legal frameworks. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has previously stated that Bitcoin will be treated distinctly from other tokens under the executive order.
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