When Governments Become Bitcoin Investors

Bitcoin used to be dismissed as fringe. Today, governments themselves are holding it.

As of July 2025:

U.S.: 198,000 BTC (~$23.5B)

China: 190,000 BTC (~$22.5B)

UK: 61,000 BTC (~$7.3B)

Ukraine: 46,000 BTC (~$5.5B) Even North Korea, Bhutan, El Salvador, and Venezuela make the list.

The Trump administration recently announced a strategic bitcoin reserve in March 2025, explicitly storing seized BTC under federal control.

What This Means

At first glance, government adoption looks like validation: if the U.S. and China hold Bitcoin, doesn’t that legitimize it as an asset class?

But the data points to fragility:

Volatility now scales up. Bitcoin isn’t just a retail trader’s headache — it’s embedded in national balance sheets.

Liquidity mismatches loom. Unlike Treasury reserves, Bitcoin isn’t easily deployed in crises.

Governance is uncertain. Who controls wallets, security, and liquidation strategy at a government scale?

The Wealth Parallel

Wealthy families often think the same way:

“If my business is big enough, it’s safe.”

“If my portfolio is large enough, it’s secure.”

But scale doesn’t erase fragility — it amplifies it. A $50M business is just as vulnerable as a $5M one if everything is concentrated in one asset.

Governments in Bitcoin are no different. They’re concentrated in a volatile, thinly liquid asset class — one bad shock could magnify, not dampen, risk.

The Lesson

Size and validation don’t guarantee resilience. Only structure does.

The strongest families manage crypto like they manage private markets:

Liquidity planning

Governance over custody and access

Structures to withstand volatility

Education only, not financial, legal or tax advice