Unresolved Agency Clash Leaves U.S. Bitcoin Reserve Plan Incomplete

Rewritten Version:

The White House says it is still weighing the most effective structure for a federal fund that would hold Bitcoin as a long-term reserve, alongside a separate pool for other digital assets.

More than 16 months after Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish the reserve, officials admit that the framework is still not finalized. Bloomberg reports that both the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department are being considered to oversee the initiative.

Trump’s March 2025 order directed the creation of a strategic bitcoin reserve and a broader digital asset stockpile. Since then, federal agencies have reviewed the government’s crypto holdings—without publicly revealing the totals—and have been working on plans to build out the funds. However, progress has been slowed by an ongoing dispute between the two departments over who should take control.

White House spokesperson Liz Huston said the administration remains focused on Trump’s goal of making the U.S. a global leader in cryptocurrency and advanced technologies, adding that officials are continuing to assess the best structure for both the bitcoin reserve and the wider digital asset stockpile.

The administration’s top crypto adviser, Patrick Witt, along with his predecessor, has said that congressional approval will likely be necessary to fully establish and activate the funds. Executive orders alone do not carry the force of law, and no legislation has yet been passed, though discussions continue in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. If Republicans lose their majority in one or both chambers in the upcoming midterm elections, the chances of formalizing the plan could decline.

Even if a structure is agreed upon, it remains unclear whether the government will formally allocate its bitcoin holdings—estimated at more than 300,000 BTC, or roughly $21 billion—into an official reserve.

The administration intends for these holdings to serve as a long-term strategic asset, but key questions around implementation and oversight are still being worked out.