US bitcoin reserve hits snag as agencies fight for control
The US bitcoin reserve hits snag as the Treasury and Commerce departments cannot agree which agency should oversee the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Bloomberg reported Monday. Legal questions about custody authority and Bitcoin's volatility have left the Trump administration's stockpile plan in limbo despite earlier White House optimism.
President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order directed the reserve to sit inside the Treasury Department, with other agencies helping build holdings through asset seizures. More than a year later, that framework remains unsettled as federal departments debate control and the Justice Department weighs legally available options.
Key Takeaways
- Treasury and Commerce are at odds over who should manage the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, according to Bloomberg.
- Officials question whether Treasury has legal authority to custody volatile Bitcoin holdings.
- Congressional bills—the BITCOIN Act and ARMA Act—aim to acquire 1 million BTC over five years but have not advanced.
- White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt has called progress on legal safeguards a "breakthrough" even as interagency talks continue.
- Bitcoin closed above $64,000 on Monday as markets looked past Strategy's $216 million sale.
Why is the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve stalled?
The Trump administration's push to establish a national Bitcoin stockpile has reportedly hit a roadblock. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, said efforts to structure the reserve have slowed amid an interagency dispute over how holdings should be managed.
Concerns have emerged over whether the Treasury Department has the legal authority to oversee Bitcoin, partly because of the asset's price volatility. That uncertainty has complicated implementation of the March 2025 executive order, which envisioned Treasury housing the reserve while other agencies contributed seized crypto.
Which federal agencies are fighting over the bitcoin reserve?
The Commerce Department has emerged as a contender to oversee the reserve, Bloomberg reported. The Department of Justice is also working with both departments to determine legally available options for standing up the program.
The turf battle reflects a broader question: which arm of the federal government is best positioned—and legally empowered—to custody digital assets the US has acquired through enforcement actions. Until that is resolved, primary oversight of the holdings remains unsettled.
Can executive orders alone create a US bitcoin reserve?
White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said in May that the administration was examining the legal implications of creating a Bitcoin reserve. He described the American Reserve Modernization Act, or ARMA, as "Version 2" of the BITCOIN Act—both introduced in May and seeking to acquire 1 million Bitcoin over five years through budget-neutral strategies.
Witt called the work a "breakthrough" for getting safeguards "legally sound" and "properly safeguarding the assets." Still, the Bloomberg report underscores that executive action alone has not settled which agency holds the keys. For more on how policy shifts move crypto markets, see our Fintech & Crypto Alerts coverage.
How is bitcoin trading while the reserve plan stalls?
Market reaction has been resilient. Bitcoin reversed a Monday opening selloff and closed the day above $64,000 as bulls began to price in selling from Strategy, which offloaded $216 million in BTC. Technical analyst John Bollinger said charts suggest Bitcoin could "take off from here."
Despite the interagency friction in Washington, many industry advocates say a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve could strengthen the case for Bitcoin as a strategic asset. Traders, meanwhile, appear focused on corporate flows and chart signals rather than the bureaucratic delay. Read the full Bloomberg report via Cointelegraph for additional detail.