White House says U.S. is structuring Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and crypto stockpile

The Trump administration is still deciding how to structure the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and broader digital-asset stockpile, with a dispute between the Treasury and Commerce departments, unresolved legal questions and the absence of congressional authorization slowing implementation 16 months after President Donald Trump ordered the effort. Trump signed a March 2025 executive order creating the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, directing Treasury and Commerce to devise budget-neutral ways to acquire bitcoin without taxpayer funding. The reserve was meant to rely heavily on bitcoin already held by the government through criminal and civil forfeitures, but officials are still debating where the reserve should sit and whether Treasury has legal authority to manage it. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel said it is working with both departments to determine legally available options, and one possibility under review is housing the reserve at Commerce. Officials are also examining whether the government can hold bitcoin indefinitely as the order envisioned, given the asset’s volatility. White House spokesperson Liz Huston said the administration continues to evaluate the best structure for both the reserve and the stockpile as part of Trump’s push to make the U.S. a global center for cryptocurrency and other advanced technologies. Patrick Witt had said in April that a major announcement was expected within weeks, but none has followed. The policy remains unfinished partly because a presidential order alone cannot complete the project and Congress has not passed legislation authorizing it. Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Nick Begich have introduced a bill that would codify the order and target purchases of 1 million bitcoin over five years through budget-neutral strategies, but it has not advanced. Estimates from Arkham Intelligence put U.S. government holdings at more than 300,000 bitcoin worth over $20 billion at current prices. The administration has argued that past premature sales of seized bitcoin cost taxpayers about $17 billion and that a unified long-term reserve would provide a strategic advantage.