Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise, asserted on Sunday, March 9, that US President Donald Trump will hold off on further Bitcoin purchases until it reaches a price close to $60,000. Park’s remarks, shared via his official account on X, were made against the backdrop of growing speculation around so-called “budget-neutral” methods the administration might use to acquire additional BTC for the recently established US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Why Trump Needs Bitcoin To Drop First
On March 6, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order creating the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, positioning the United States to maintain a leading role in the digital asset space. The administration confirmed that it already controls roughly 200,000 BTC—valued at around $17 billion at current prices—seized primarily through criminal and civil asset forfeiture proceedings – pending an audit. While the Executive Order prohibits selling Bitcoin within the reserve, it directs the Secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce to study “budget-neutral” ways of accumulating additional BTC in the future, ensuring no extra cost to taxpayers.
Jeff Park’s perspective cuts through the standard market commentary, focusing instead on the political realities that, he believes, heavily influence any presidential decision to buy BTC. In one of his posts, Park writes: “I’m going to let you in on a little secret from my primary field experience on how the BTC pitch works… I know one thing better about institutions than almost anyone else: public officials almost never buy bitcoin on trend/momentum and certainly not at the highs. The reason is simple – they don’t want to get fired when the inevitable drawdown hits or worse, ruin their reputation in the public domain.”
He goes on to argue that political figures, especially one as scrutinized as the US President, face an asymmetric risk profile. The fallout from buying at a higher price—only to see the market correct—can be devastating from a public-relations standpoint. Park surmises that the incentives for officials shift dramatically when BTC dips to more attractive levels.
He notes: “Can you imagine the headlines that will come for Trump if he buys bitcoin at $100k and it goes to $70k? On the positive side, if BTC gets to very cheap levels, the incentives for politicians and sovereigns to buy will increase… It is always +EV for the incentive calculation of an executive branch (which must win elections) to wait for BTC to get to $60k and buy and take credit.”
Park stresses that while a strategic reserve might be intended as a long-term store of value, public officials seek to avoid backlash in the event of immediate downside price volatility. This underlying political pressure, he contends, makes them less likely to make “high-risk” moves—especially ones that might expose them to questions about accountability.
The newly formed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, often branded by the administration as a “digital Fort Knox,” is explicitly designed to remain untouched over the long haul. White House Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks has likened it to “a 21st-century bulwark of national financial security,” underscoring the administration’s ambitions for American cryptocurrency leadership.
However, Park argues that certain conditions must be met for a reserve program to gain genuine traction. Among them are “programmatic buying vs discretionary ‘studies,’” shared decision-making (to distribute accountability), and an element of permanence—either through legislative safeguards or authoritative action undertaken behind closed doors.
Park’s admiration for public pension Chief Investment Officers who have proactively incorporated Bitcoin also highlights the contrast in decision-making timelines: “This is at the core why I give so much RESPECT to the public pension CIOs that have bought BTC or invested in crypto strategies. They are simply true patriots – committed to long-term thinking for the benefit of all against the potential privatized loss of one’s self. Heroes.”
His applause underscores how these executives, unlike politicians seeking reelection or mindful of wide public scrutiny, often have more leeway to invest for the long haul, provided they have fiduciary guardrails in place.
At press time, BTC traded at $82,389.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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