U.S. Nears Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Rollout, Says Official

TLDR

• The White House confirmed that it will soon announce details about the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
• Patrick Witt said the administration completed key legal steps to secure the reserve.
• President Donald Trump signed the executive order creating the reserve on March 6, 2025.
• The reserve currently holds about 328,372 BTC from law enforcement seizures and forfeitures.
• The executive order prohibits the Treasury Department from selling any bitcoin in the reserve.
• A breach at the U.S. Marshals Service exposed weaknesses in crypto custody systems.

The White House plans to announce new details on the U.S. Bitcoin reserve soon. A senior official confirmed that the administration completed key legal work. The update signals progress on the government’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, confirmed the development this week. He said the administration resolved major legal questions tied to the reserve. “We’ll have an announcement,” Witt said, while declining to provide further specifics.

Witt described the development as a legal and operational milestone. He said the team ensured the structure remains legally sound and properly safeguards assets. He added that the administration had completed the most difficult phase of the process.

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Framework Nears Completion

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 6, 2025, to create the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Since then, federal agencies have coordinated to define custody and reporting standards. Witt said his deputy, Harry John, led the interagency review and secured the required legal opinions. He explained that agencies built infrastructure suited for digital assets rather than gold-based systems.

The reserve currently holds about 328,372 BTC, or roughly 1.6% of global supply. Authorities accumulated the bitcoin through law enforcement seizures and forfeitures. These holdings include assets from the Silk Road case and the 2022 Bitfinex hack recovery. The executive order bars the Treasury Department from selling any bitcoin.

Witt previously told attendees at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas that an update would arrive within weeks. He repeated that timeline during his latest interview. He stated that the administration finalized procedures to protect private keys and maintain custody integrity.

Security Breach Spurs Legislative Push

Witt cited a breach at the U.S. Marshals Service to stress the urgency of secure custody. A contractor, John Daghita, allegedly stole more than $46 million in cryptocurrency in late 2025. The FBI arrested him in March 2026 after investigators traced the transactions.

Authorities also linked a separate $24 million theft to October 2024. Witt said these incidents underscored the need for structured oversight. “It’s a case in point for why it was so necessary that the president established the SBR,” he said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have advanced two bills to formalize the reserve through legislation. Representative Nick Begich renamed the BITCOIN Act as the American Reserves Modernization Act, or ARMA. The proposal would authorize the Treasury to purchase up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years and lock holdings for 20 years.

Senator Cynthia Lummis has urged Congress to vote before the summer recess. She said lawmakers face tighter floor schedules as midterm campaigns approach. If Congress passes the measure, projections show the Treasury could begin open-market bitcoin purchases in Q4 2026.

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