More Than a Year After Trump's Order, the US Bitcoin Reserve Still Isn't Running — Treasury and Commerce Can't Agree Who's in Charge

On July 6, 2026, the White House confirmed it is "actively working" on the structure of the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — yet more than 16 months after Trump's March 2025 executive order, no managing agency has been designated, the full scope of holdings hasn't been disclosed, and the government hasn't purchased a single new bitcoin beyond what it already held, Bloomberg reports.

What the dispute is actually about: the original Executive Order 14233 envisioned the reserve sitting inside the Treasury Department, stocked with bitcoin from criminal asset forfeitures. But lawyers raised doubts over whether Treasury has clear legal authority to hold such a volatile digital asset indefinitely — pushing officials to consider the Commerce Department as an alternative. The dispute has escalated far enough that the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel is now mediating between the two agencies, crypto.news notes.

What this means in practice: while the dispute drags on, the US holds roughly 328,372 BTC (about $25 billion at current prices) — all of it acquired purely through criminal forfeitures, with none bought on the open market. That technically makes the US the largest known sovereign bitcoin holder in the world, but in practice the reserve remains a frozen portfolio with no management structure behind it.

Back in May, speaking at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, said an announcement on the reserve's structure was coming "in the next few weeks," CoinDesk reported. As of July 6, that promise still hasn't been kept — and meanwhile, the SEC is already weighing simplified crypto ETF filings, showing that regulatory uncertainty in Washington isn't limited to the bitcoin reserve alone.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.