US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Stalled by Agency Legal Dispute

More than a year after an executive order directed its creation, the U.S. government's plan for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve remains stalled by a bureaucratic and legal dispute over which federal agency has the authority to manage it. The White House confirmed on Monday that it is still evaluating the best structure for the reserve, which is intended to hold Bitcoin and other digital assets as a long-term national stockpile.

President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14233 on March 6, 2025, establishing the reserve. The core concept was to retain Bitcoin seized through criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings as a strategic asset, ending the previous practice of liquidating such holdings. The order set a timeline for agencies to account for their Bitcoin and for the Treasury Department to deliver an evaluation, but those deadlines have long passed without resolution.

The central obstacle is a fundamental legal question: whether the Treasury Department has the statutory authority to custody and manage digital assets indefinitely. Officials have raised concerns that existing laws do not clearly grant this power, creating uncertainty over whether long-term custody of seized...