The ambitious project of the Donald Trump administration to form a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) has encountered serious bureaucratic hurdles. The key issue is interagency disagreements over who will control this asset and in what legal form it will exist.
Initially, the March 2025 executive order mandated placing the SBR within the Treasury Department. However, the department raised legitimate doubts about whether it has the legal authority to manage a volatile asset like bitcoin. As a result, the Department of Commerce has entered the fray for control and is now being considered as an alternative candidate. The Department of Justice, in turn, acts as an arbiter, trying to find a legally flawless model that would satisfy all parties.
While the White House evaluates the optimal structure, the United States is already the largest state holder of bitcoin. According to Bitcoin Treasuries, the government holds 328,372 BTC, which at the current exchange rate amounts to about $21 billion. These assets, however, were confiscated during various investigations, not purchased intentionally.
Meanwhile, two bills are gaining momentum in Congress — the BITCOIN Act and the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (ARMA). Both set an ambitious goal: acquiring 1,000,000 BTC over five years. Funding is proposed through budget-neutral strategies, which sounds like a challenge for classical fiscal policy. Under ARMA, assets must be locked up for at least 20 years, although theoretically, their sale could be allowed to reduce the national debt, which is already approaching $40 trillion.
Despite the bureaucratic delays, sentiment in the crypto industry remains positive. As Bitcoin Treasuries podcast host Tim Kotzman aptly noted, the mere fact of discussing the SBR at the state level is already a powerful signal for the market. This is not just a "bullish" factor for bitcoin, but a recognition of a new category of capital allocation that entire nations are now beginning to explore.
"The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is a positive factor not only for bitcoin itself. It confirms the viability of an entirely new category of capital allocation. Public companies took the first step. States are beginning to follow their example."
My analysis: The current situation is a classic example of political will clashing with the inertia of the state machinery. While the Treasury and Commerce departments figure out who will be the "master" of the reserve, bitcoin continues to trade. However, the very fact that the debate is not about "whether a reserve is needed," but about "how to properly formalize it," represents tremendous progress for the entire industry. If Congress passes one of the bills, we will witness a historic shift: the world's largest economy will officially begin accumulating bitcoin as a strategic asset.