U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has claimed that the government is continuing to make progress on plans for a strategic Bitcoin reserve while pushing lawmakers to pass a major cryptocurrency market structure bill that could bring clearer rules to the industry.
At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday regarding the federal government’s 2027 budget, Bessent called on lawmakers to back the Clarity Act. If passed, the bill will establish the first comprehensive federal framework for regulating digital assets in the United States.
Bessent said he hopes Congress can advance the legislation this summer, saying clear rules are key if the U.S. wants to remain competitive in financial innovation.
“The bill will help keep the U.S. a global leader in emerging technologies,” he continued.
“It’s very necessary to bring U.S. best practices onshore, and we work tirelessly in terms of custodying these assets and making the U.S. the innovation capital of the world,” Bessent told lawmakers.
Clarity Act seen as key step toward clear U.S. crypto rules
The Clarity Act has emerged as one of the most closely watched crypto bills in Washington. The legislation seeks to provide much-needed clear regulation for crypto companies, investors and developers by establishing how digital assets should be regulated at the federal level.
The bill has been discussed for more than a year. One version of the proposal has already passed the House of Representatives but has struggled to gain traction in the Senate, where lawmakers are still trying to work through a number of unresolved issues.
The biggest sticking points include the treatment of stablecoin rewards, protections for software developers and concerns about potential conflicts of interest related to President Donald Trump’s increasing involvement with the cryptocurrency industry through various business ventures.
Unfortunately, time is becoming another element in the bill delay. Later this year, expect Congress to turn its attention increasingly to budget talks, with the midterms consuming much of the lawmakers’ time after the summer.
That has put pressure on crypto advocates who see the coming months as a key opportunity to push the legislation forward.
Bessent gives update on strategic Bitcoin Reserve plans
Alongside his comments on regulation, Bessent also gave an update on the administration’s plans for a strategic Bitcoin reserve, one of the most high-profile crypto initiatives since Trump was re-elected.
Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the establishment of a national bitcoin reserve.
The reserve wouldn’t buy large amounts of bitcoin on the open market but would instead be funded mostly with digital assets the government already owns from criminal seizures, civil forfeitures and other legal actions.
The broader digital asset stockpile was also part of the executive order, though officials have released few details about how either effort will ultimately work.
There has been a lot of interest in the proposal from the crypto industry and traditional financial markets. Supporters see it as a sign of Bitcoin’s growing acceptance as a strategic asset, while critics have questioned the practical purpose of such a reserve and how it would be managed moving forward.
Earlier this year, Patrick Witt said that more details on the reserve could emerge in the months ahead, fuelling speculation on what the administration will do next.
The process of creating the reserve is complicated, said Bessent, but work is going on behind the scenes.“We are proceeding with all deliberate speed, and we are making sure that we use best practices and things will be durable for the future as we do this in this complicated process,” he said.
His comments indicate the administration wants a measured and disciplined rollout, rather than rushing to put the initiative in place. Custody, security, governance and long-term management issues are still at the centre of the process.