Bitcoin Tanks Below $119K as U.S. Treasury Says Government Won’t Be Buying BTC

Bitcoin’s rapid momentum took a pause on Thursday, falling below the $119,000 price mark after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that no new Bitcoin purchases are planned for the government’s digital asset reserve.

The drop came just hours after Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high of $124,457 and briefly surpassed Google in market capitalization, before investor optimism cooled.

Market reaction and liquidations

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $119,070, marking a sharp reversal from its earlier gains. The move sparked turbulence across the broader cryptocurrency market, with data from Coinglass showing roughly 211,205 traders liquidated in the past 24 hours.

Total liquidations approached $995.58 million, with the largest single position, a $6.25 million ETH-USDT-SWAP trade, closed on OKX.

Bessent made his comments during an interview with Fox Business, stating:

“We’ve also started to get into the 21st century, a Bitcoin reserve. We’re not going to be buying that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up.”

His remarks contrast with President Donald Trump’s earlier directive to explore “budget-neutral strategies” to expand Bitcoin holdings.

Policy outlook and broader context

Earlier this year, Bo Hines, then serving on the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, suggested the administration was reviewing funding options for future Bitcoin acquisitions, including tariff revenue and reassessment of the Treasury’s gold certificates.

While those discussions signaled potential expansion, the latest statement from the Treasury indicates no near-term buying activity.

The policy stance echoes White House AI and crypto adviser David Sacks, who in March described the government’s Bitcoin reserve as “a digital Fort Knox” meant for long-term holding rather than active trading.

While confiscated Bitcoin will continue to boost the reserve, the absence of planned purchases may temper short-term bullish expectations.

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