U.S. Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Stalls Amid Interagency Disputes
Taylor Wilson
More than 16 months after Trump signed an executive order to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve, a jurisdictional dispute between Treasury and Commerce has left the plan's structure undecided — and with Congress yet to pass enabling legislation, the fate of over 300,000 seized coins worth more than $20 billion remains unresolved.
What are the two departments fighting over?
The core dispute is who gets custody: Treasury sees asset management as its turf, while Commerce is also in the running — housing the reserve under Commerce is one option now being evaluated.
The deeper question is legal authority — whether Treasury has the statutory power to manage such holdings, and whether the government can hold a volatile asset indefinitely.
This means → the fight is not just bureaucratic turf — existing law has no provision for "the government stockpiles Bitcoin," leaving whoever takes charge without a clear mandate.
Why can't the executive order get it done?
Officials have stated plainly: the executive order itself carries no force of law. A presidential signature alone cannot build the reserve — Congress must legislate.
Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative Nick Begich introduced a bill to codify the order and set a target of 1 million BTC purchased over five years on a budget-neutral basis, but the bill has made no meaningful progress.
In plain terms = the president drew the blueprint, but building requires Congress to approve the land — and the land hasn't been approved.
How much Bitcoin does the government already hold?
Arkham Intelligence estimates the U.S. government holds more than 300,000 BTC, worth over $20 billion at current prices, mostly from criminal and civil forfeitures.
The White House has said that premature sales of seized Bitcoin over the past several years cost taxpayers roughly $17 billion.
This reflects an awkward reality: the government argues it sold too early, yet cannot produce a legal framework for holding on.
Is the price environment helping or hurting?
When Trump first floated the reserve plan, Bitcoin traded around $93,000; it has since fallen to just above $64,000 — a drop of roughly one-third.
After hitting an all-time high last October, Bitcoin at one point fell nearly 50% from its peak.
This means → the price slide raises the political cost of "hold indefinitely" — if the reserve launches and prices keep falling, congressional scrutiny will land squarely on whichever department is in charge.
What comes next?
Chief crypto adviser Patrick Witt said in April that a major announcement was expected within weeks. It has not materialized.
Whether the reserve can move forward hinges on two things: resolving the jurisdictional dispute + passing congressional authorization.
If Republicans lose their House majority in this year's midterms, the legislative window narrows further — put simply = the clock is running out.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.