*�🇸 Should America Build a Bitcoin Reserve With Tariff Cash?

Author Adam Livingston says the U.S. could drop 70B surplus into cold storage and make BTC a strategic asset.

⚡ Quick Hits

• 💵 Tariff revenue (July 2025): 135.7B (double last year)
• 💰 Surplus proposed for BTC reserve: 70B
• 🏦 Custody plan: Multi-sig, geographically distributed cold wallets
• ⚖️ Budget approach: Budget-neutral, Trump EO–compliant
• 🪙 Alternatives: Revalue U.S. gold (42/oz book vs 3,300 market) or sell SPR oil

📚 Livingston’s Big Idea

Adam Livingston, author of The Bitcoin Age, just pitched a bold plan: Use the U.S. tariff surplus to buy Bitcoin and stash it like digital gold.

The idea:

• Proof-of-reserves → public, transparent BTC reporting
• Multi-sig cold storage → untouchable by lending desks or gov spending
• Budget-neutral → no new taxes, no new debt

“We’re sitting on a 70B surplus not tied to entitlements or debt service,” Livingston said. “This is our chance to build a Bitcoin reserve.”

Think Fort Knox, but on-chain.

🏛️ Treasury’s Mixed Signals

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent first shrugged it off:

“We’re not going to be buying that.”

Hours later? He softened, saying budget-neutral pathways for Bitcoin reserves are still “being explored.”

That’s not a yes, but it’s definitely not a hard no.

💡 Other Funding Hacks

If tariffs don’t cut it, analysts flagged two other plays:

• Revalue gold reserves → Still booked at 42.22/oz vs. 3,300 market price
• Liquidate SPR oil → Sell barrels, stack sats

Both would modernize strategic reserves without adding debt.

🔮 Why It Matters

If Washington actually green-lights this, it’d be historic:

• 🌍 Geopolitical leverage: A non-sovereign reserve asset immune to currency wars
• 🏦 Fiscal discipline: Budget-neutral, aligns with conservative policy
• 🚀 Market validation: Bitcoin moves from speculative asset to strategic reserve

It’d be the biggest stamp of legitimacy since institutional adoption began.

TL;DR

• 📚 Author Adam Livingston says U.S. should fund a Bitcoin reserve with 70B tariff surplus
• 🏦 Custody via multi-sig cold wallets, proof-of-reserves for transparency
• 🧐 Treasury sent mixed signals — dismissive at first, then open to “budget-neutral” paths
• 💡 Other options: revalue gold, sell oil from strategic reserves
• 🌍 Would position BTC alongside gold + oil as a U.S. strategic asset