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Legal snag stalls reserve
President Donald Trump’s strategic bitcoin reserve plan is facing legal and jurisdictional questions about whether the Treasury Department can legally manage the reserve, slowing one of the administration’s most visible crypto policy proposals.
The dispute has also opened a jurisdictional debate, with conversations shifting toward whether the reserve could instead sit inside the Commerce Department, moving the project away from the department most directly associated with federal finances.
The plan, laid out early in Trump’s presidency, was initially structured around bitcoin already owned by the government through criminal or civil forfeitures, alongside a separate digital asset stockpile.
A central issue is whether bitcoin can be held indefinitely, especially given the asset’s volatility and the way a large federal holding could create political pressure during market declines.
A White House spokesperson said the administration is still reviewing the structure, with Liz Huston telling reporters, “To deliver on the President’s vision, the Trump administration continues to evaluate the best structure for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.”
Agencies fight over authority
A turf war between the US Treasury and Commerce departments over legal authority to run Trump’s planned Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is holding up the policy, even as Bitcoin rose on Monday despite the uncertainty.
The stakes are considerable because the federal government’s holdings are worth more than $20 billion across various agencies, and any eventual resolution over where the reserve is housed could still matter for supply dynamics given Washington’s status as one of the world’s largest Bitcoin holders.
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is working with both departments to find a legally viable structure, according to the reporting.
CoinDesk also said the White House acknowledges the process is still being worked out 16 months after Trump ordered the reserve, and that Congress has not yet produced legislation to back up the formation and activation of the crypto funds.
In a statement sent to CoinDesk, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said, “President Trump campaigned on a vision of cementing America as the global capital of cryptocurrency and other cutting-edge technologies,” while the CoinDesk report notes the administration is still evaluating the “best structure.”
Congressional bills and market risk
Lawmakers are working on bills that would codify Trump’s executive order and give the reserve a firmer legal foundation, including a proposal from Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Nick Begich to acquire 1 million bitcoin over 5 years using budget-neutral strategies.
“The United States government is working on building strategic bitcoin reserves and an inventory of cryptocurrencies”
The Block’s reporting also describes the same legislative approach, noting that the bill would build on the order and include language for acquiring 1 million bitcoin over five years using “budget-neutral strategies.”
CoinDesk adds that presidential orders do not carry the weight of law, and it says no legislation has yet advanced, while also noting that if Republicans lose the majority in the House or both chambers in this year’s midterm elections, it is unlikely such a bill will formalize the concept anytime soon.
Even if the administration works out the structure, CoinDesk says it is unclear whether officials can “pull the lever” to officially put the government’s bitcoin holding—estimated at more than 300,000, or about $21 billion—into the reserve.
CoinDesk also reports that Trump asked his administration to come up with ways to acquire more bitcoin without using taxpayer money, and it notes that if they’d started buying at the time of the order they would have bought at $93,000, while BTC has dropped to just above $64,000.
