Scott Bessent just dropped a reality check on the whole “U.S. buying Bitcoin as a reserve asset” fantasy. The former Soros Fund Management chief investment officer and current Key Square Capital CEO shut down the idea in a recent interview, calling it a “pipe dream” that’s not happening anytime soon—if ever.
Bessent’s take? The U.S. government isn’t about to pivot from its long-standing reliance on the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. “The U.S. has the exorbitant privilege of the dollar,” he said, pointing out that Washington has zero incentive to rock the boat. Bitcoin might be gaining traction as digital gold, but the feds aren’t exactly rushing to stack sats alongside their gold stash.
This isn’t just Bessent’s hot take—it’s a cold dose of realism. While countries like El Salvador have gone all-in on Bitcoin, the U.S. plays by different rules. The Treasury and the Fed have spent decades fine-tuning the dollar’s dominance, and they’re not about to hand over the keys to a decentralized, volatile asset. Even with Bitcoin ETFs now a thing, institutional adoption doesn’t equal government adoption.
Still, the idea keeps popping up. Crypto Twitter loves the narrative that Bitcoin could become a strategic reserve asset, especially as geopolitical tensions rise and inflation fears linger. But Bessent’s argument cuts through the noise: the U.S. already has the ultimate financial weapon—the dollar. Why mess with a system that’s worked for over a century?
That doesn’t mean Bitcoin is irrelevant. Far from it. Bessent himself has been bullish on crypto for years, and institutional interest is undeniably growing. But there’s a difference between Wall Street betting on Bitcoin and the U.S. government treating it like gold 2.0. One is a speculative play; the other would be a seismic shift in global finance.
So where does that leave Bitcoin? Still fighting for legitimacy, still volatile, still a high-risk bet. But also still a hedge against inflation, still a decentralized alternative to traditional finance, and still a favorite among those who distrust government-controlled money. The U.S. might not be buying Bitcoin for its reserves, but that doesn’t mean it’s not watching closely.
For now, the dream of Bitcoin as a national reserve asset remains just that—a dream. But in crypto, dreams have a funny way of becoming reality. Just not as fast as the hype machine would have you believe.
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