"At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bessent told journalist Christine Lee that the initiative is part of a larger effort to bring digital-asset innovation onto U.S. soil while keeping federal oversight of seized cryptocurrency This sentiment comes from questions about the government's handling of BTC seized from developers linked to Tornado Cash in the Southern District of New York as well as the handling of bitcoin from Samourai Wallet developers."
"While Bessent declined to comment on ongoing litigation, he emphasized that any seized BTC would be retained by the federal government after legal damages are resolved, rather than being sold at auction as in prior years. "This administration's policy is to add seized Bitcoin to our digital asset reserve," Bessent said, highlighting the first step in implementing the SBR: stopping all sales."
The U.S. Treasury will halt all sales of seized Bitcoin and add confiscated BTC to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). The SBR, created under a March 2025 executive order, treats Bitcoin as a long-term strategic asset akin to gold or petroleum stockpiles. Seized assets from cases tied to Tornado Cash developers and Samourai Wallet developers will be retained by the federal government after legal damages are resolved instead of being auctioned. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the approach as pro-innovation and pro-onshore, seeking to bring digital-asset activity onto U.S. soil under federal oversight. Officials denied reports that recently forfeited Samourai Wallet bitcoin were sold and confirmed those funds will remain in the SBR under Executive Order 14233.
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