The US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: what’s actually law, and what’s still stalled.
An executive order made part of the reserve real in 2025. Sixteen months later the rest is still an argument between departments.
Explainer · reviewed 7 July 2026 · by Jukka Blomberg, ex-CMO of two crypto exchanges
What is settled
- The reserve exists by executive order. Signed 6 March 2025, published in the Federal Register 11 March 2025: a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve plus a separate US Digital Asset Stockpile for seized non-Bitcoin crypto.
- It is capitalised with coins already held. Bitcoin obtained through criminal and civil forfeiture, to be retained as a store of value — the White House’s “digital Fort Knox.”
- The mandate names two tasks. A full accounting of federal digital-asset holdings, and budget-neutral strategies from Treasury and Commerce to acquire more Bitcoin at no cost to taxpayers.
What is still stalled
- No delivered public report. Early evaluation deadlines passed without one. As of July 2026 there is no authoritative public accounting.
- No designated lead agency. Treasury and Commerce dispute ownership; the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is involved.
- No confirmed open-market purchase. The budget-neutral mandate has not, on the public record, produced a buy.
- No statute. A BITCOIN Act to codify the reserve under Treasury has been proposed, not enacted — and without it, agencies have been reluctant to move.
Why this is what a policy-led signal looks like
Price reacts in seconds, ETF flows in days, sovereign policy in quarters and years. A headline about the US “buying Bitcoin” deserves the question: which part — the coins it already seized, or a purchase that has not happened? The settled part (do not sell) and the unsettled part (buy more, budget-neutral, under a named agency, in law) are two clocks, and only the first has struck. The Sovereign Bitcoin monitor tracks this slow line live.
Common questions
Does the US already have a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?
On paper, yes. A 6 March 2025 executive order established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, capitalised with Bitcoin the government already held through forfeiture, and directed that those coins not be sold. What does not yet exist is a delivered public report on the government's holdings, a designated lead agency, or any confirmed budget-neutral open-market purchase. This is general information, not financial advice.
How much Bitcoin does the US government hold?
It has never been fully audited publicly. Estimates cited around the executive order put the seized holdings near 200,000 BTC; later 2026 estimates run higher, around 328,000 BTC. The executive order itself called for a full accounting precisely because no authoritative public figure exists. Treat any single number as an estimate until an official accounting is published.
Has the US bought Bitcoin for the reserve on the open market?
As of July 2026 there is no confirmed open-market purchase. The executive order directed Treasury and Commerce to develop budget-neutral acquisition strategies — ways to acquire more Bitcoin at no cost to taxpayers — but the structure remains unresolved and no such purchase has been publicly confirmed.
Sources
- Executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and US Digital Asset Stockpile, signed 6 March 2025 — White House fact sheet; Federal Register (published 11 March 2025).
- Reserve capitalised with forfeited Bitcoin, held as a store of value; ~200,000 BTC cited at the order — CNBC, VOA, Burr & Forman, March 2025.
- Later 2026 holdings estimate ~328,000 BTC (~$25B), pending congressional codification — The Block, Phemex, 2026.
- Structure stalled in a Treasury–Commerce oversight dispute; DOJ OLC involved; no delivered report; no confirmed open-market purchase — CryptoSlate, Cryptonews, Coinpedia, 2026.
- BITCOIN Act proposed to codify the reserve, not yet enacted — congressional and industry reporting, 2025–2026.
Point-in-time estimates from public reporting on the dates noted; the government’s holdings have not been fully audited publicly.