Trump administration floats using tariffs to build strategic Bitcoin reserve

Key Takeaways

• The administration wants all Bitcoin and might use tariffs to get it.
• Strategies include revaluing Treasury gold certificates and interagency collaboration to purchase Bitcoin.

The Trump administration is exploring various neutral-budget strategies, including potential tariffs, to acquire Bitcoin, said Bo Hines, Trump’s top crypto advisor in a recent interview with Anthony Pompliano, an American entrepreneur and a famous crypto influencer.

“We’re looking at many creative ways, whether it be from tariffs, whether it be from something else. I mean, there’re literally countless ways in which you can do this,” Hines said . “Everything’s on the table.”

The executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, also known as the Crypto Council, reiterated that the administration wants to buy as much Bitcoin as possible without affecting taxpayers.

“We obviously have made it very clear that we want to acquire as much as we can get,” Hines said. “It stipulates that we have to acquire Bitcoin in budget-neutral ways that don’t cost a taxpayer a dime.”

Hines also likened Bitcoin to gold and firmly stated that the government plans to hold, not sell, its Bitcoin reserves.

The administration’s efforts include collaboration between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and other officials within the inter-agency working group to develop Bitcoin acquisition strategies.

Hines has repeatedly praised Senator Cynthia Lummis’ Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act of 2025, which proposes the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the US through Congress.

The act proposes using proceeds from the revaluation of the Fed’s gold certificates as a dedicated funding source exclusively for purchasing Bitcoin. The legislation directs the US government to acquire 1 million Bitcoin over five years, aiming to hold it long-term as a strategic asset.

Hines said in a March interview with journalist Eleanor Terrett that he is open to swapping Fort Knox gold reserves for Bitcoin as long as it does not affect the US government’s budget balance.

The administration’s approach includes examining both internal portfolio rebalancing and external revenue generation opportunities.

“We’re gonna make sure that no stone is unturned as we start fleshing out some of these processes,” Hines said.

Digital assets will revolutionize America’s outdated financial system

Addressing the future of America’s financial structure, Hines championed blockchain technology and digital assets as the key to modernizing how Americans interact with money. He said that the current system is riddled with inefficiencies and ripe for disruption.

“We look at our banking system and there’s so much friction there,” he stated, pointing to everyday issues like transfer delays and hidden fees as signs that the legacy system no longer serves the needs of modern users.

“Look at our current payment rails, look at our systems that allow us to move money to one another. There are fees, there’s a lack of transparency. There’s a time process that’s obviously too long with the technology that currently exists,” Hines added.

According to Hines, blockchain and the emerging technologies in the digital asset space will provide the fix.

“Blockchain technology and some of these technologies that are emerging out of the digital asset space will help revolutionize that system. It’ll make things more transparent for Americans, more efficient, more effective,” he said.