The ambitious plan of the Donald Trump administration to form a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) has encountered serious bureaucratic obstacles. The main problem is sharp disagreements between key agencies over who will control this asset and how exactly the management system will be structured.
Initially, the March 2025 presidential executive order envisioned placing the SBR within the structure of the Treasury Department. However, during the analysis, it turned out that the department may lack the legal basis to manage such a volatile asset as bitcoin. This created serious legal risks, and the Department of Commerce is now being considered as an alternative.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the Department of Justice is acting as an arbiter, advising both agencies on finding a legitimate legal framework. The White House, in turn, continues to assess which model best aligns with the goal of turning the United States into the "world's crypto capital." For now, one thing is clear: the process is dragging on, and this does not add certainty to the market.
As of now, according to my data, the United States is already the largest state holder of bitcoin, with a reserve of 328,372 BTC, equivalent to approximately $21 billion. These assets were confiscated during various legal proceedings.
In parallel, two key bills are advancing in Congress — the BITCOIN Act and the American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA). Both documents provide for the acquisition of 1,000,000 BTC over five years. ARMA is of particular interest, as it requires holding the assets for at least 20 years, but theoretically allows their sale to reduce the national debt, which is already approaching $40 trillion.
Despite the interagency squabbles, representatives of the crypto industry remain optimistic. The key message here is that the very fact of recognizing bitcoin at the state level opens a new era in capital allocation. Public companies have already taken the first step; now states are following suit.
My expert assessment: The current bureaucratic red tape is not a catastrophe, but an inevitable stage in the establishment of a new asset class at the sovereign state level. The very fact that the question of the legal legitimacy of bitcoin ownership for the Treasury is being raised is a giant step forward. The market will certainly react to any specifics, but for now we are witnessing a classic struggle between agencies for control over a strategically important resource. This only confirms that bitcoin has ceased to be a niche tool and has become an object of high politics.