The price of Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, experienced a significant sharp collapse earlier this Thursday. This downturn occurred after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent initially confirmed that the U.S. would not be purchasing crypto for its strategic reserve. At 12:35 UTC, Bitcoin plunged to an intraday low of $117,719 on the Bitstamp exchange, struggling to regain ground and trading around $118,544. This occurred on the very same day it had reached a new all-time high of $124,517, marking a nearly 4% decline. Altcoins took an even bigger hit, with XRP plunging 7% within minutes and briefly dipping below the $3 level. Overall, CoinGlass data showed that over $1 billion worth of crypto had been liquidated over the past 24 hours, with long positions accounting for the overwhelming majority of this wipeout, totaling $778 million.

Bessent had initially stated that the U.S. would cease selling existing coins, a policy maintained by the current administration since the establishment of the cryptocurrency reserve in March. However, he explicitly ruled out new Bitcoin purchases, despite previous suggestions that avenues for buying more could be found. This stance caused the odds of the U.S. establishing its own strategic Bitcoin reserve in 2025, as tracked on Polymarket (a major cryptocurrency-based betting platform), to collapse to a new all-time low of just 16%. Bessent also clarified that the government's current holdings, comprised of confiscated coins, stand at up to $20 billion, making the U.S. the largest holder of top cryptocurrencies among all countries, with China and the U.K. also in the top three. Notably, China is reportedly considering selling its vast Bitcoin holdings to help fill a budget hole for its current Labour Party government.

In a contradictory development, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later indicated that the U.S. might indeed buy more Bitcoin, walking back his earlier comment that had contributed to the recent crypto market correction. This conflicting social media post puzzled some members of the cryptocurrency community. Despite having previously ruled out additional BTC purchases on top of the forfeited coins during a wide-ranging interview, Bessent subsequently posted on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that the U.S. Treasury is committed to finding “budget-neutral” pathways for acquiring more coins, echoing comments he made back in March. Bloomberg had previously estimated a 30% chance of the U.S. actually buying Bitcoin in 2025, with potential funds for such purchases possibly coming from the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF).

Bitcoin continued to exhibit volatility, trading at $118,156 following Bessent's most recent social media post, after earlier reaching an intraday low of $117,201. Michael Saylor, the executive chairman of business intelligence firm Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), remained unfazed by the recent correction. He succinctly brushed off Bitcoin's recent plunge with a social media post asserting that