Trump mulls bitcoin reserve as U.S. debt tops $40T

U.S. public debt reached $40.049 trillion on Aug. 19, Treasury Department figures and public debt trackers show. About $32.266 trillion of that total is held by the public, while roughly $7.782 trillion is attributed to intragovernmental accounts, including federal trust funds.

The national debt has risen from about $19.95 trillion when President Donald Trump took office in January 2017. The most recent $1 trillion increase came in roughly five months after the debt topped $39 trillion in March.

Higher interest rates have pushed federal interest costs close to or above $1 trillion annually. The Congressional Budget Office projects interest payments of about $1 trillion in fiscal 2026 and estimates they could reach roughly $2.1 trillion by 2036 under current law. To cover maturing securities and ongoing deficits, the government must refinance and issue more debt, and rising rates increase the cost of those rollovers.

The Treasury said it will expand buybacks of longer-dated securities to at least $4 billion per operation. Those operations coincided with a rise in bitcoin prices from the mid-$64,000 range to near $69,000 and $70,000 on Aug. 19, a move of around 7 percent. Market participants cited the buybacks as a factor that eased pressure on long-term yields and reduced short positions in crypto futures markets.

Mr. Trump acknowledged that advisers have discussed accumulating sizable bitcoin holdings and said he would hear recommendations from figures including Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins. He commented, “Certainly it’s been talked about,” and added, “It takes a lot of pressure off the dollar. It’s been very, very good for the dollar.” He also noted that the United States would remain a leader in crypto, prediction markets and artificial intelligence.

Those remarks did not constitute a formal plan to buy bitcoin on the open market. The existing Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is largely composed of coins forfeited in criminal cases. Federal officials have been asked to explore ways to increase those holdings without affecting the budget, and members of Congress have introduced bills proposing a government bitcoin reserve. Any market purchases would require specific policy action and budget guidance.

Observers said they will watch for detailed proposals on a bitcoin reserve, along with monthly deficit reports, movements in Treasury yields and the outcome of debt-limit negotiations, to assess whether policy or market conditions will change following the $40 trillion milestone.