Hagerty Says US Bitcoin Reserve Could Grow Once Market Rules Pass

Senator Bill Hagerty just dangled a bigger Bitcoin pile in front of the market. According to Bitcoin Magazine, the Tennessee Republican said growing the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve beyond its current 200,000 BTC could happen sooner rather than later — with one big catch. The green light depends on Congress wrapping up crypto market structure legislation first.

The reserve currently holds roughly 200,000 BTC, a figure that has sat mostly untouched since it was assembled from coins the government already had on its books. That means no new buying has hit the open market yet. Hagerty's comment is the clearest signal yet that Washington is thinking past simply holding what it seized.

The senator said an expansion “could come very soon” if lawmakers finish the market structure bill, per Bitcoin Magazine. He didn't offer a timeline, a dollar amount, or any detail on how the government would actually acquire more coins. Translation: the door is cracked open, but nobody's walked through it.

Hagerty has been one of the Senate's loudest crypto voices, and he's now tying the reserve's next chapter directly to the broader rulebook Congress has been grinding on for months. Market structure legislation would sort out which agencies police which digital assets — a fight that's stalled progress on plenty of other crypto priorities. Get that done, and the reserve conversation moves from slogans to strategy.

For Bitcoin holders, the headline is less about today and more about sequencing. A bigger reserve needs a legal framework, and a legal framework needs votes. Hagerty is betting both arrive together.

The next move sits with Congress. Until the market structure bill lands on a president's desk, the reserve stays at 200,000 BTC — and Hagerty's “very soon” stays a promise without a date.