White House top crypto officials said this week that the Trump administration is considering reviving decades-old gold certificates as a new way to expand the country’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings without increasing the federal deficit.
In an interview with the Crypto in America Podcast, Beau Hines, who heads the Presidential Advisory Council on Digital Assets, said the administration is open to budget-neutral methods of acquiring additional Bitcoin for strategic Bitcoin reserves.
President Donald Trump recently approved the establishment of the National Bitcoin Reserve through an executive order earlier this month, indicating a broader change in US digital asset policy.
The government already controls around 207,000 BTC, which is obtained primarily through confiscation, making it the largest Bitcoin holder in the country.
Revaluation of money
According to Hines, the administration is actively thinking about many “creative” strategies to accumulate more Bitcoin.
He said:
“There were countless ideas. If it’s budget neutral and doesn’t cost taxpayers a single dime, we’ll see creative ideas that we can come up with.”
One idea of ​​gaining traction involves recognizing the full market value of gold-backed certificates that remain at prices far below their actual value.
Under current law, certificates of gold held by the Federal Reserve Bank are valued at a fixed statutory price of $42.22 per ounce, and have not changed since the early 1970s.
With gold currently trading over $3,000 per ounce, the difference between book value and market value represents a potential storm. This can be redirected towards accumulating digital assets.
This concept reflects the provisions outlined in the 2025 Bitcoin Act, introduced by Senator Cynthia Ramis. The bill calls for the Federal Reserve financial certificates to be returned to the Treasury, which will be reissued at a price reflecting the actual market value of the gold they represent.
Advocates argue that revaluation could generate billions of profits with unrealized profits. Senate and House lawmakers are making bipartisan efforts to advance legislation.
Hines noted that the decision was not finalized, but indicated that interagency debate was ongoing.
“We’re going to hear some extraordinary ideas about how that can be done. I don’t want to box us up yet about how it actually looks because I want to hear from anyone.”
Unique assets
Hines emphasized that the administration views Bitcoin as a unique asset class with distinct characteristics from other digital currencies. He added that its decentralized nature and fixed supply make it particularly attractive as a long-term storehouse of value.
Hines pointed out:
“David (Sack) likes to say it has the concept of Immaculate. That means there are no publishers. There are also storages that are intrinsic and traditionally valuable. He wanted to make that distinction (between stock and reserve).”
The administration’s digital asset strategy includes separate tracks for Bitcoin and a broader “stopping stockpile” of Altcoin, which is expected to be managed under a variety of legal and regulatory frameworks.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has previously emphasized that Bitcoin will be treated separately from other tokens under the executive order.
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