President Donald Trump’s move to establish what he calls a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” within the federal government was celebrated by the cryptocurrency industry at the start of his administration. Industry hails it as further cementing Bitcoin’s arrival As a mature asset, one year has passed and there are still no reserves.
The Trump administration has completed preliminary work on accounting for the government’s holdings of cryptocurrencies, but the U.S. Bitcoin Reserve is not close to being formed as a result of a concept in the March 6, 2025 order: “No legislation is required to implement any aspect of the order.” Trump’s Treasury Department lacks the authority needed to establish a dedicated account. The White House acknowledged that it would require congressional action, and Trump’s cryptocurrency adviser Patrick Vitter said the situation raised “new legal questions” that must be answered.
Lawmakers such as Sen. Cynthia Lummis have introduced preservation legislation, and according to people familiar with legislative strategy, the best chance of passing it now may be to include it in the National Defense Authorization Act at the end of the year. But to achieve that goal, Trump’s White House may have to re-prioritize the issue.
Speculation about the planning and funding of the reserve — and its cousin, the Independent Digital Asset Reserve, which Trump also ordered to collect all other types of cryptocurrencies — has faded and flowed. Last month, CNBC market talk head Jim Cramer spread rumors that Trump’s people were ready to start filling reserves when BTC hit $60,000, despite lacking a place to store it or the funds to buy.
The president’s cryptocurrency officials continued to express dissent when asked how many Bitcoins the federal government actually owns, although some estimates put the number at more than 300,000, totaling more than $20 billion.
The crypto industry’s biggest disappointment with Trump’s Bitcoin order is that it was not accompanied by any new government purchases of the leading crypto asset. Instead, it encourages creative policies that allow governments to increase inventories without spending taxpayer money.
Trump adviser Witt has been reluctant to share the main idea of acquiring more Bitcoin for the fund. The purpose of holding Bitcoin is for long-term appreciation, rather than technically as a strategic reserve, which means that its contents will be released to alleviate any emergencies.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the pause, but it further emphasized that executive orders – a mainstay of the Trump administration – carry no legal power and often function only as high-level directives from the president.
If Trump’s congressional allies move to include the reserve bill in a defense bill later this year, the legislative process would typically end in December. Must-pass appropriations bills are often used as what Washington insiders call a “Christmas tree,” where they hang a variety of unrelated bill decorations on the legislation because it must pass. If that’s the plan, it would happen during the “lame duck” period of the session, when some members of Congress will be voted out or choose to retire — like Loomis — but haven’t yet reached their departure date.
Lummis’ own Bitcoin Reserve bill calls for a spending plan that would see the U.S. hold 1 million coins — about 5% of the final total supply. The Wyoming Republican is the inaugural chair of the Senate Banking Committee’s first digital assets subcommittee, and so far he has only succeeded in bringing legislation to the committee, but the panel’s main priority is another crypto issue: passing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.
Read more: Why doesn’t the US have a Bitcoin reserve yet?