{"id":15124,"date":"2025-08-17T21:35:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T19:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/?p=15124"},"modified":"2025-08-17T21:35:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T19:35:36","slug":"redirecting-tariff-surplus-to-build-a-bitcoin-strategic-reserve-adam-livingston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/17\/redirecting-tariff-surplus-to-build-a-bitcoin-strategic-reserve-adam-livingston\/","title":{"rendered":"Redirecting Tariff Surplus to Build a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve \u2014 Adam Livingston"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The United States administration can acquire additional Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) for the US strategic reserve by reallocating portions of the tariff revenue surplus into BTC purchases, as stated by Adam Livingston, author of \u201cThe Bitcoin Age and The Great Harvest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Livingston suggested<\/a> utilizing a segment of the surpluses accrued from trade tariffs<\/a> each month and directing that into secure, cold-storage BTC that is neither traded, staked, sold, rehypothecated, allocated for programs, used to secure loans, nor lent out for yield. He remarked:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of July, we’ve collected $135.7 billion in customs duties \u2014 twice last year’s rate. Allow me to reiterate that we’re holding a $70 billion surplus from tariffs, and we haven’t even completed the fiscal year.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This surplus remains unallocated. It hasn\u2019t been pre-spent. It\u2019s not associated with Medicare, entitlements, or servicing debt. It’s simply existing without a designated use, \u201d Livingston elaborated.<\/p>\n

Cumulative receipts indicate that the US government gathered around $136 billion in customs duties through the 2025 fiscal year to date. Source: <\/em>US Treasury Department<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The initiative to finance the US Bitcoin strategic reserve<\/a> using the tariff surplus may present a method for the government to procure more BTC under US President Trump\u2019s executive order, indicating<\/a> that further BTC can exclusively be acquired through budget-neutral methods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>White House crypto report reveals mixed outcomes for Bitcoin supporters<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

US Treasury Secretary sends ambiguous signals on strategic reserve<\/h2>\n

Scott Bessent, secretary of the United States Treasury Department, announced on Thursday that the US government would not be acquiring any new BTC<\/a> for the strategic reserve<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not planning to purchase that, but we will utilize confiscated assets and keep building that up,\u201d Bessent informed<\/a> Fox Business.<\/p>\n