Whose Bitcoin Is It? The Legal Fight Stalling Trump’s $20 Billion Reserve

Legal questions over which federal department can lawfully manage a national crypto trove have complicated President Donald Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, more than a year after he ordered its creation.

Trump directed the reserve into existence last year as part of his pledge to make the United States “crypto capital of the world.” The plan has since run into a structural problem.

Which Agency Can Legally Hold America’s Bitcoin Remains Unresolved

The order intended the reserve to sit inside the Treasury Department. Bitcoin (BTC) would come from federal asset seizures. The order also empowered the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to design budget-neutral ways to buy more Bitcoin, provided the purchases cost American taxpayers nothing.

Concerns then surfaced over whether Treasury could legally manage the assets, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Housing the reserve inside the Commerce Department is now one option.

Another open question is whether Bitcoin can be held indefinitely, as the order intended, given its price swings.

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The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is working with both departments to “determine legally available options to accomplish the president’s policy of establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.” 

White House spokesperson Liz Huston addressed the matter in a statement shared with BeInCrypto. She said the administration was still working out the right setup for the reserve.

“President Trump campaigned on a vision of cementing America as the global capital of cryptocurrency and other cutting-edge technologies,” Huston said. “To deliver on the president’s vision, the Trump administration continues to evaluate the best structure for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.”

The US government ranks among the largest holders of Bitcoin worldwide. Its holdings exceed $20 billion at current prices, according to Arkham Intelligence.

How the administration resolves the authority question will determine whether one of its signature crypto commitments takes shape or stays on paper.

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The post appeared first on BeInCrypto.