David Bailey, a former crypto advisor to the Trump administration, says the US government’s verbal support for Bitcoin falls short of what is needed to drive meaningful adoption, and that symbolic gestures have not yet translated into concrete policy action.
Speaking at the Bitcoin Investor Week Conference in New York, Bailey was direct: “At the end of the day, liking Bitcoin is not enough.” Bailey now serves as CEO and Chairman of KindlyMD, a Bitcoin treasury company.
A Reserve in Name Only
President Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in March 2025. Months later, the US government has not begun actively accumulating Bitcoin beyond assets seized through illicit activity. Data from Arkham Research puts the government’s current holdings at 378,372 Bitcoin, worth approximately $22.48 billion.
“Last time I checked, we don’t even know how much Bitcoin we have exactly,” Bailey said, pointing to a lack of transparency around the reserve’s status.
The accumulation question hit a wall quickly. Just two months after the executive order, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks acknowledged that buying more Bitcoin would only be feasible if the government could fund it in a “budget-neutral” way, without raising taxes or adding to the national debt.
Industry views split as the year progressed. Galaxy Digital‘s head of firmwide research, Alex Thorn, said in September there was a “strong chance” the reserve would still be built out before the end of 2025. Others grew skeptical.
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Political Capital, Not Just Sentiment
Bailey’s argument centers on the gap between political sympathy and political will. Trump, he said, has been the first major politician to champion the Bitcoin worldview, but an opinion does not move markets or policy machinery.
“Just because you like Bitcoin doesn’t mean that you’ve invested the political capital necessary for things to happen,” Bailey said. “Unless you’re willing to bear the political capital necessary to mobilize the different gears necessary to move the ball forward, then at the end of the day, you can like Bitcoin, you cannot like Bitcoin, you’re going to get the same outcome achieved.”
The administration’s broader crypto posture has been active on the margins. Trump posted on Truth Social this week calling for the US to get “Market Structure done, ASAP,” referencing the pending CLARITY Act, which aims to give the industry greater regulatory definition.
Bitcoin’s Long Game
Despite his frustration with the pace of government action, Bailey stopped well short of pessimism. Bitcoin does not require government help to succeed, he argued. It only requires time and growing public ownership.
“Whether it’s four years from now, or 10 years from now, or 20 years from now, we will get to the point where we actually have a government that is conducive to the rules we need for Bitcoin to be successful,” Bailey said.
His prescription for accelerating that timeline: more voters owning Bitcoin. “We need more voters to own Bitcoin every year. And then it is just inevitable,” he added.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $68,220, roughly 45% below its all-time high of $126,000 reached in October, according to CoinMarketCap.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.
Photo by Jen Titus on Unsplash
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