Cathie Wood Exclusive Revelation! The US government may directly purchase 1 million Bitcoins

ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood revealed on the “Bitcoin Brainstorm” podcast that the U.S. government may begin directly purchasing Bitcoin to bolster the national strategic reserve, rather than relying solely on law enforcement confiscations. Currently, the reserve established by the Trump administration’s executive order only includes confiscated BTC, but the initial target of 1 million coins far exceeds the current holdings. If the vote on January 22nd passes, the government will start buying in.

From No Policy of Active Buying to a Turning Point

Cathie Wood pointed out that although the Trump administration has set up a national Bitcoin reserve through an executive order, so far, the reserve only consists of confiscated BTC, with no market purchases made. “It seems that various parties have always been cautious about truly buying Bitcoin as a strategic reserve. Up to now, these Bitcoins have all been confiscated,” she emphasized. “The initial goal was to hold 1 million BTC, so I believe they will eventually start buying.”

This policy shift is highly significant. Currently, the U.S. government has confiscated about 200,000 BTC through crackdowns on Silk Road, hacking organizations, and fraud cases, leaving an 800,000 BTC gap to reach the 1 million target. Relying solely on law enforcement confiscations could take years or even decades to meet the goal. Therefore, actively purchasing from the market becomes the only feasible approach.

The Bitcoin reserve mandate essentially functions as a holding mechanism, aiming to treat confiscated Bitcoin as a strategic national asset, similar to gold stored in Fort Knox. The reserve mandate also tasks the Treasury Department and the Department of Commerce with exploring strategies to increase Bitcoin holdings without additional budget allocations. While no purchases have been made yet, Wood’s forecast suggests this window of opportunity may soon close.

If the U.S. government actually begins buying, it would have a huge impact on the market. The 800,000 BTC worth approximately $88 billion at current prices, and such a scale of buying could significantly drive prices upward. More importantly, government purchases would send a clear signal to the global market: Bitcoin is now regarded by the U.S. as a strategic national asset, which could attract other countries to follow suit, sparking a “Bitcoin arms race” among sovereign nations.

Three Possible Paths for Government Bitcoin Purchases

Direct Market Acquisition: Buying in batches through designated exchanges or OTC desks to avoid large single transactions impacting the market

Budget Reallocation: Converting part of gold reserves or foreign exchange reserves into Bitcoin to diversify assets

Asset Confiscation and Reinvestment: Selling confiscated other cryptocurrencies (like ETH, stablecoins) to acquire Bitcoin

A report released in July by the crypto and AI working group led by David Sacks indicated that Bitcoin reserves and cryptocurrency reserves would be managed by the Treasury Department and could only be funded from “confiscated digital assets.” However, Wood’s forecast hints that this restriction might change under political pressure.

Midterm Election Pressures Drive Crypto Politicization

Cathie Wood believes that under the pressure of midterm elections, Trump will continue to prioritize cryptocurrency issues, which is bullish for Bitcoin strategic reserves. On one hand, Trump and his family have deepened their interests in the crypto industry; according to a Financial Times investigation, the Trump family earned over $1 billion in profits from crypto-related businesses in the past year. On the other hand, the crypto community played a significant role in his winning the presidential election.

“He doesn’t want to be a ‘lame duck president’; he hopes to have one or two more productive years in office, and he sees crypto as a pathway to the future,” Wood said. This statement accurately captures the Trump administration’s instrumental attitude toward cryptocurrencies: it is not only an ideological choice but also a combination of political mobilization and economic interests.

The crypto industry demonstrated remarkable political mobilization in the last U.S. election. Political action committees like “Stand With Crypto” invested hundreds of millions of dollars supporting pro-crypto candidates, and several key swing-state senators were elected with crypto community backing. This political influence makes the Trump administration hesitant to ignore the demands of crypto voters.

Wood stated that cryptocurrencies are “part of the reason Trump won the presidential election,” and they could become a politically significant topic in the upcoming midterm elections. If Trump hopes to maintain the Republican majority in Congress, he must continue to push policies favorable to the crypto community, and actively buying Bitcoin to bolster the national reserve is the most direct way to signal this.

Additionally, the Trump administration has signed multiple executive orders establishing Bitcoin reserves and crypto asset inventories, and formed a crypto and AI working group led by David Sacks to promote industry legislation, including the GENIUS Act (stablecoin legislation). These measures show that cryptocurrencies have become a core policy agenda of the Trump government.

Beyond the federal level, several U.S. states, including Florida and Texas, are working to pass similar legislation on crypto reserves. This state-level legislative movement further reinforces Bitcoin’s legitimacy as a strategic asset and paves the political way for federal direct purchases.