U.S. Continues Work on Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
The U.S. is reviewing how to manage its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as Congress advances related legislation.
The United States is continuing its efforts to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, with the White House still evaluating the most effective governance structure for both the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.
According to White House spokesperson Liz Huston, the administration has not yet decided which government agency will oversee the reserve. Officials are currently reviewing different management models to ensure the initiative complies with existing laws.
The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel is working alongside the Treasury Department and the Department of Commerce to develop a legal framework that would allow President Donald Trump's plan for a national Bitcoin reserve to move forward.
The initiative follows an executive order signed by Trump in March 2025 directing the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. However, more than 16 months after the announcement, the project has yet to be implemented, and responsibility for managing the reserve remains undecided.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are advancing two key pieces of legislation: the BITCOIN Act and the ARMA Act. Both proposals would allow the United States to accumulate up to one million Bitcoin over the next five years using budget-neutral funding mechanisms.
White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt described the ARMA Act as an updated version of the original BITCOIN Act. He also noted that the administration has spent considerable time addressing the legal questions surrounding the operation of a national Bitcoin reserve.
Under the ARMA Act proposal, any Bitcoin acquired for the reserve would be held for at least 20 years. Sales would be permitted only under limited circumstances, primarily to help reduce the growing U.S. national debt.
Neither bill has been approved by Congress so far. As a result, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve currently exists only under the president's executive order, with its final structure depending on both administrative decisions and the outcome of the legislative process.
According to publicly available data, the U.S. government currently holds approximately 328,372 Bitcoin worth nearly $21 billion. Most of these holdings were obtained through criminal asset seizures.
It is also worth noting that President Trump initially proposed a broader national cryptocurrency reserve. In March 2025, he suggested it would include XRP, Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano alongside Bitcoin. The administration later revised the plan, separating it into a dedicated Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile for other digital assets.
The coming months will determine whether the administration can turn the proposal into reality. For now, officials remain focused on selecting an appropriate governance model and establishing the necessary legal framework, while the final decisions are still pending.
