Will Government Confiscate Your Bitcoin?

First They Pump It… Then What? No One Saw Them Coming for Your Gold in 1933

by Kerry Lutz
FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com

When I originally floated the idea that Bitcoin could be used by the U.S. government to help pay down the national debt and recapitalize Social Security, the reaction was swift—and not always polite.

Critics told me I didn’t understand how Bitcoin worked. That the government would never touch it. That this was all fantasy.

But let’s be clear: my original thesis wasn’t about confiscation. It was about price manipulation—the government allowing, even facilitating, a monumental Bitcoin bull run so that it could liquidate its own strategic holdings at the top and use the windfall to stabilize a collapsing financial system.

In other words: a government-engineered pump and dump.

But the more I’ve thought about it, the more another possibility emerges—one no one really wants to consider, but which history tells us we should never rule out: What if they decide to take more? Not all. Just enough.

We know the U.S. government holds Bitcoin. Through law enforcement seizures, forfeiture programs, and unpublicized acquisitions, estimates suggest they may already have over 500,000 BTC—worth over $30 billion today and far more in a future bull market.

This leads to a rational play: Drive demand and legitimacy through regulation, ETFs, and institutional adoption. Let the price moon. Liquidate part of the stockpile near the top to help pay down debts and stabilize entitlement programs like Social Security.

That alone was bold enough. But now, let’s take it a step further.

Let’s say Bitcoin hits $500,000… or $1 million. Regular Americans now hold life-changing gains. That’s when the conversation shifts from price action to policy action.

Imagine a windfall profits tax on unrealized or realized Bitcoin gains. A patriotic contribution plan tied to Social Security restoration. A mandatory buyout of Bitcoin holdings above a certain threshold, at government-determined rates. Or IRS-driven enforcement on crypto reporting.

It won’t be called confiscation. It’ll be framed as sharing in the success of America’s digital asset transition. As a necessary move to protect the monetary system. As temporary—of course.

Some likened my original thesis to the trillion-dollar platinum coin idea—an accounting gimmick dressed up as policy. But this is different.

Bitcoin has real value. The market believes in it. Institutions are embracing it. Nations are warming to it. What I proposed originally wasn’t a gimmick—it was a fiscally strategic move using an appreciating reserve asset to avert disaster.

This new idea—partial confiscation through a windfall policy tool—is what happens when the state realizes Bitcoin is too valuable to leave in the hands of the public alone.

Let’s be honest—no one saw them coming for the gold in 1933.

It wasn’t on anyone’s radar. Then one morning, Americans woke up to Executive Order 6102: hand over your gold, or face prison.

It didn’t feel like tyranny. It was framed as economic necessity. A patriotic duty. A temporary measure for the good of the nation.

Bitcoin is quickly becoming the new gold. And the next crisis may bring a modern version of that same 1933 play—repackaged for a digital age.

If Bitcoin becomes a multi-trillion-dollar asset class, it becomes fair game for all the tools governments have used for centuries to stabilize shaky regimes.

They don’t need to take it all. They only need a slice.

So no—this article is not a retraction of my original thesis. That stands.

The U.S. government will continue to help inflate the value of Bitcoin in order to capitalize on its own holdings. That’s the pump.

But now I’m proposing something new: they may not stop with their own stash.

If the price goes high enough, and the desperation gets real enough, a windfall extraction—through taxes, policy, or patriotic participation—might become the next step.

It won’t be all or nothing. It’ll be just enough. Enough to survive. Enough to stabilize. Enough to make you think it was your idea.

Because in the end, governments don’t usually take everything. They take just enough to keep the lights on.

Regards,
Kerry Lutz

Source: https://www.financialsurvivalnetwork.com/2025/04/will-government-confiscate-your-bitcoin/