No US Bitcoin Reserve Without Japan, Bitwise Exec Argues
In a CoinStories interview with Nathalie Brunell, Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise Asset Management, argued that US sovereign Bitcoin holdings are a matter of “when,” not “if”—however solely through a deliberate, legislated course of and sure in live performance with key allies.
Park stated plainly: “It will likely be inevitable that governments will purchase Bitcoin on their steadiness sheet. This is one thing I really feel very strongly,” including that advocates ought to “be affected person” as a result of it’s “unlikely a rogue determination.”
He drew a agency distinction between an govt motion and a sturdy nationwide coverage: “There’s a distinction between an govt order mandate to purchase Bitcoin as a strategic asset versus a congressional mandate,” he mentioned. Executive orders are “unstable” and “may be turned by the following administration,” whereas a legislated strategic reserve “embed[s] the mandate of the folks.”
Why The US Bitcoin Reserve May Hinge On Japan
Crucially, Park framed the US Bitcoin reserve as an allied, not unilateral, mission. The United States, he mentioned, operates inside an financial “social contract” with companions equivalent to Japan. A shock US pivot into BTC would danger belief: “It can be a slight betrayal of that social contract when you had been to stuff, let’s say, Japan with all of your long-dated Treasury bonds after which didn’t give them a heads up and simply purchased Bitcoin by yourself.”
As a sensible indicator, he flagged Tokyo: “I feel Japan is the one try to be taking note of… Once you begin seeing Japan embrace Bitcoin then I do suppose we’re prepared for that dialogue to occur on the nation ranges.”
Park additionally cautioned that sovereign BTC seen right now largely displays authorized seizures moderately than market accumulation.
“Most of the core treasury holdings of sovereigns have to this point come from seizures or forfeitures,” he mentioned, citing the US and China. He dismissed coercive home takings as inconsistent with US norms: utilizing eminent area in opposition to a compliant personal entity would cross a line “the US usually shouldn’t be on that facet of historical past for.”
Open-market accumulation at scale, in the meantime, can be price-disruptive. Instead, he pointed to a extra American pathway via market constructions and public-private alignment: “If you consider the assemble of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac… you can nonetheless have a non-public entity that is ready to prolong credit score for the American folks,” suggesting that “Bitcoin treasury corporations may be… personal, sure, however aligned with type of the nationwide mission.”
Park’s financial rationale threads these factors collectively. Post-2008 coverage has elevated “plentiful reserves” and technocratic rate-setting, making scarce collateral strategically beneficial. Within that context, he mentioned, “Bitcoin is the scarcest, hardest asset known to man and it’s the social covenant that I feel will supersede the greenback as we’ve recognized it in a means that hopefully sooner or later will likely be synergistic for each American exceptionalism.”
Park’s conclusion is exacting moderately than speculative: governments shopping for Bitcoin is “inevitable,” however a US transfer requires congressional authorization, signaling and coordination with allies—notably Japan—and institutional mechanisms able to execution at dimension with out violating core property-rights norms.
At press time, BTC traded at $111,103.