How Many Bitcoins Can The U.S. Government Actually Buy?

How many bitcoins will the United States buy and how? White House adviser Bo Hines advocates using customs tax revenues.

Bitcoin, the gold of the third millennium

Gold always becomes the international currency par excellence again during times of war. In 1938, the United States’ gold reserves amounted to 9,000 tons, and in 1942, to 19,000 tons…

Today, the United States and China are engaged in a trade war that is once again making gold shine, up 60% over two years. Goldman Sachs expects that we will reach $4,000 before the end of the year.

Digital gold is doing even better. Bitcoin has soared by over 200% in the same time frame. And the best is yet to come since the United States wants to make it their reserve currency. White House adviser Bo Hines has repeatedly stated that the goal is “to accumulate as many bitcoins as possible before others”.

Very well, but how to fund this reserve in a budget-neutral way? For example, we know that Senator Cynthia Lummis wants to sell Fort Knox’s gold. Bo Hines, for his part, proposes to mobilize customs tax revenues:

Moreover, he assures that he will not miss any opportunity. Meanwhile, we can already do some small calculations.

Customs taxes, how many billions?

Last year, the United States exported $143 billion worth of goods to China. They currently have a trade deficit of $295 billion.

Washington wants to reduce this deficit via tariffs. These have now reached an unprecedented level of 145% against China, which retaliated with taxes of 125% on American products.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has declared itself ready to “fight until the end”. In other words, trade between the two nations could completely stop. In this scenario, customs taxes are likely to be meager…

Therefore, it is reasonable to doubt that tariffs will bring in $2 billion per day. Donald Trump actually cited this figure before the 90-day pause for the rest of the world.

Last year, the United States generally imported $9 billion worth of goods per day. Applying an average rate of 22% (initial announcement), we do get $2 billion per day, but this assumes the volume of American imports remains at that level. Unlikely.

A reserve of 5 million bitcoins?

Daily data from the Treasury Department shows customs revenues are currently around $200 million, ten times less than the announced $2 billion. However, this would be enough to buy 2,350 bitcoins each day.

For more perspective, note that 450 bitcoins are mined daily and that El Salvador only buys one BTC per day. In total, $200 million per day would allow accumulating 857,000 BTC in the first year.

That said, it is obvious that the first bitcoins will not be bought at the same price as the last. Especially since a global rush is more than likely and multinational companies are already in the game. Businesses added 95,431 bitcoins to their treasuries in Q1 2025. They now hold 688,000 BTC, or 3.28% of the total supply:

Strategy founder Michael Saylor suggests that the government acquire up to 25% of the total bitcoin supply over the next decade. Such an investment could, in his opinion, generate $100 trillion.

“The nation should acquire 5 to 25% of the Bitcoin network through daily purchases between 2025 and 2035, when 99% of all BTC will have been issued”, Saylor wrote in a document titled “A Digital Assets Strategy to Dominate the 21st Century Global Economy“.

Let us bet that the United States will find the necessary money for their greatest monetary poker move since the “petrodollar“.