Bitcoin slid below the $60,000 mark this week, hitting roughly $59,000 — its lowest level since October 2025 and the start of the U.S.-Iran war in late February. The price drop came as Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, disclosed it sold 32 BTC from its corporate reserve, its first sale since 2022. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said plans for a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve are moving forward, though he cautioned that integrating a new technology like bitcoin into government policy is not straightforward.
Strategy’s modest sale — a first in four years
In a filing, Strategy revealed it sold 32 bitcoin. The amount is small compared to the company’s overall holdings, but it’s notable because the firm hadn’t sold a single coin since 2022. Before the filing, Bitcoin was trading above $71,000. Since then, it’s declined over 17% in a week.
Michael Saylor, Strategy’s founder, didn’t blame the sale for the slide. He attributed the decline to liquidity shifting toward AI infrastructure and $4 billion in ETF outflows since mid-May. The U.S.-Iran war, which drove much of the geopolitical chatter earlier this year, has receded into the background. Recent talks between Washington and Tehran left Bitcoin largely unmoved.
Bessent: Reserve plans moving with ‘deliberate speed’
Secretary Bessent told reporters that the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is advancing at what he called “deliberate speed,” but acknowledged the process is complicated. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2024 to create the reserve using seized bitcoin. The U.S. currently holds 328,372 BTC.
Bessent’s comments underscore that while the administration is committed to the idea, the mechanics of holding and potentially accumulating bitcoin in a government balance sheet are novel. With the U.S.-Iran war no longer dominating headlines, the reserve discussion has shifted from wartime urgency to longer-range policy.
New bill aims to codify the reserve
Representative Nick Begich introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act, which would put the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into law and direct the Treasury to explore budget-neutral ways to acquire more bitcoin. The bill builds on Trump’s executive order, which currently relies solely on seized assets.
How the U.S. could add to its stash without spending money remains an open question. Begich’s proposal tasks the Treasury with finding creative solutions, but details are sparse. The bill now faces the usual legislative grind.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $60,000 — down over 5% in the last 24 hours.
