Trump's plan for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is running into a problem that has little to do with Bitcoin's price and everything to do with Washington plumbing.
The reserve was supposed to turn seized Bitcoin into a national asset, a kind of government-held crypto vault that wouldn't be sold. But the Trump administration is now wrestling with which department can legally control it, Bloomberg has learned.
Trump's March 2025 executive order said the Treasury secretary should establish an office to administer and maintain control of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, with the reserve capitalized by Bitcoin forfeited through criminal or civil proceedings.
- But Bloomberg's sources familiar with the matter now say questions have emerged over whether Treasury has the legal authority to manage the crypto trove.
- The Commerce Department, the U.S. agency that oversees trade, industry and economic policy, is now being considered as an alternative home, according to the report.
Who gets the Bitcoin
The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel is now working with both Treasury and Commerce to determine the legally available options, Bloomberg reported, citing a Justice Department statement.
The Office of Legal Counsel, the Justice Department unit that advises the executive branch on legal authority, is usually brought in when the question isn't merely operational. It suggests the administration is trying to make sure the reserve can survive legal scrutiny before it is formally built.
- White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Bloomberg that the administration continues to evaluate the best structure for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the separate U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.
- The U.S. government remains one of the world's largest Bitcoin holders when all federal components are counted, with more than $20 billion worth of Bitcoin at current prices.