Geoff Kendrick, who leads digital assets research at Standard Chartered, has suggested a way to finance the new U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) without increasing the budget. He proposes selling some of the U.S. gold reserves, which are worth about $760 billion, to buy Bitcoin. Kendrick believes this could be a budget-independent strategy.
This idea follows President Donald Trump’s executive order that created the SBR and a Digital Asset Stockpile. The order requires that any Bitcoin purchases for the reserve must not add financial burdens on taxpayers. It also mandates that all Bitcoin owned by the U.S. government be moved to the SBR, but none of it can be sold.
Kendrick also mentioned other ways to fund the SBR without raising government spending. One option is to use the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF), which has $39 billion in assets.
This fund usually stabilizes financial markets, but Kendrick thinks it could be used for Bitcoin purchases. Another idea is to incorporate the Bitcoin Act of 2024, proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis, which aims to allocate 200,000 BTC each year for five years. Kendrick believes this could also be done without affecting the budget if planned properly.
While President Trump is set to discuss the SBR at a summit, Kendrick cautioned that immediate action may not happen. He noted that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will play a key role in developing a strategy for acquiring Bitcoin. Kendrick does not expect any of the proposed solutions to be presented right away.
He also suggested that U.S. states and institutional investors, like pension funds, might follow the federal government’s example in investing in Bitcoin. Kendrick believes the establishment of the SBR could inspire other countries to adopt similar strategies, citing Abu Dhabi’s recent investment in Bitcoin as a sign of growing interest from sovereign nations.
