US should fund Bitcoin strategic reserve with tariff surplus: Author

The United States government can purchase more Bitcoin (BTC) for the US strategic reserve through funneling portions of the tariff receipt surplus into BTC acquisitions, according to Adam Livingston, author of “The Bitcoin Age and The Great Harvest.”

Livingston proposed taking a portion of the surpluses generated by trade tariffs every month and funneling that into secure, cold storage BTC that is not traded, staked, sold, rehypothecated, used to fund programs or secure loans, or lent out for yield. He said:

“As of July, we’ve collected $135.7 billion in customs duties — double last year’s pace. Let me repeat that we’re sitting on a $70 billion surplus from tariffs, and we haven’t even finished the fiscal year.”

That Surplus is unallocated. It’s not pre-spent. It’s not tied to Medicare, entitlements, or debt service. It’s just floating, waiting, looking for a productive use case, ” Livingston continued.

Cumulative reciepts show the US government collected about $136 billion in customs duties through the 2025 fiscal year so far. Source: US Treasury Department

The proposal to fund the US Bitcoin strategic reserve with the tariff surplus could be a path for the government to buy more BTC under US President Trump’s executive order, stipulating that additional BTC can only be acquired through budget-neutral strategies.

Related: White House crypto report a mixed bag for Bitcoin advocates

US Treasury Secretary sends mixed signals on strategic reserve

Scott Bessent, secretary of the United States Treasury Department, said on Thursday that the US government would not be buying any new BTC for the strategic reserve

“We’re not going to be buying that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up,” Bessent told Fox Business.

However, Bessent backpedaled later that day, clarifying that the US government is still “exploring budget-neutral pathways” to accruing more of the digital currency.

Several budget-neutral strategies have been proposed, including revaluing the Treasury’s gold holdings, which are currently priced at just $42.22 per troy ounce, while gold trades on spot markets for about $3,335 per ounce.

Other budget-neutral avenues include reallocating some of the government’s other existing reserve assets, selling off oil from the strategic petroleum reserve, for example, to acquire more BTC.

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