The bill remains to be a “priority,” said Patrick Witt, director of the White House Crypto Council, but regulatory legalities remain a challenge.
Progress is being made toward establishing a strategic reserve for Bitcoin (BTC) within the United States, but “unclear” regulatory requirements are delaying the method, in keeping with Patrick Witt, director of the White House Crypto Council.
Several government agencies are discussing the legality and regulatory issues of building a strategic Bitcoin reserve, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), Witt told the “Crypto in America” podcast. He said:
“It seems easy, but you then run into some unclear legal provisions and why this agency can't do it but this other agency actually could. We're continuing to maneuver forward on this. It's definitely still on the priority list without delay.”
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a “digital asset stockpile” that features altcoins and other forms of cryptocurrencies.
Trump Signs Executive Order on Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpiling. Source: Margo Martin
Establishing a federal Bitcoin reserve can be a milestone for the world's first digital currency. However, some within the Bitcoin community were critical of the order, criticizing the Trump administration for not following through on its guarantees.
The Bitcoin community feels let down by the strategic reserves announcement
Trump's executive order stipulated that the US government wouldn’t sell any of its Bitcoin holdings and would only increase the strategic reserve through BTC seized in asset forfeiture cases.
The executive order doesn’t allow the federal government to accumulate more Bitcoin or digital assets on the open market, which sparked criticism within the Bitcoin community.
The US government's total crypto holdings, including BTC, expressed in dollars. Source: Arkham Intelligence
“The belief that the federal government will in the future construct a strategic Bitcoin reserve requires a whole detachment from reality,” said Bitcoin maximalist Justin Bechler.
“There is not any movement towards a Bitcoin reserve. There is not any intention to accumulate an asset in good faith. There is simply empty talk, vague hints and opportunistic indulgence from Washington politicians,” he added.
Source: Michael Bentley
In July 2025, the Trump administration released a long-awaited digital asset policy report that didn’t provide additional details on a strategic BTC reserve, sparking further backlash from the Bitcoin community.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested in August 2025 that the federal government could acquire BTC through budget-neutral strategies that don’t increase the annual budget deficit.
The announcement renewed hopes that the US government could begin purchasing BTC on the open market by converting portions of other currency reserves into BTC or revaluing its existing metal holdings and using those profits to buy more Bitcoin.
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