Powell: The Federal Reserve cannot hold Bitcoin and is not considering participating in government reserve plans
Barclays stated that establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve may require congressional approval and the issuance of new government bonds. Considering the possible implementation methods, this plan may face strong resistance from the Federal Reserve
Trump's plan to establish a Bitcoin reserve may face resistance from the Federal Reserve.
According to media reports on Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated at a press conference following a monetary policy meeting that the Federal Reserve has no intention of participating in any government plan to hoard large amounts of Bitcoin. Powell noted:
We are not allowed to hold Bitcoin, and such issues need to be considered by Congress. The Federal Reserve is not currently seeking any legal changes related to this.
Powell's remarks weakened the value of Bitcoin, which has surged significantly alongside other crypto assets since Trump's victory in the election on November 5, with prices doubling to over $100,000 this year.
Trump previously proposed the idea of establishing a "strategic Bitcoin reserve" for the United States but has not provided specific details. Trump stated that the initial reserve could include approximately 200,000 Bitcoins seized from criminals, valued at about $21 billion at current prices.
Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced a bill suggesting that the U.S. Treasury purchase 200,000 Bitcoins annually until the reserve reaches 1 million. This plan would be funded by Federal Reserve bank deposits and gold holdings.
Barclays analysts noted in a recent report:
Establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve may require Congressional approval and the issuance of new government bonds. Considering the possible implementation methods, we suspect this plan will face strong resistance from the Federal Reserve.