Trump Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile

On March 6, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. This move positions the United States as a leader in government digital asset strategy. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve will treat bitcoin as a reserve asset, capitalized with bitcoin owned by the Department of Treasury that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. Other agencies will evaluate their legal authority to transfer any bitcoin owned by those agencies to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The United States will not sell bitcoin deposited into this Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which will be maintained as a store of reserve assets. The Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce are authorized to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided that those strategies impose no incremental costs on American taxpayers.

The Executive Order also established a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, consisting of digital assets other than bitcoin owned by the Department of Treasury that was forfeited in criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. The government will not acquire additional assets for the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile beyond those obtained through forfeiture proceedings. The Secretary of the Treasury may determine strategies for responsible stewardship, including potential sales from the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. Agencies must provide a full accounting of their digital asset holdings to the Secretary of the Treasury and the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. This Order ensures a strategic approach to managing digital assets under U.S. control.

Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, is often referred to as “digital gold” because of its scarcity and security, having never been hacked. With a fixed supply of 21 million coins, there is a strategic advantage to being among the first nations to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The United States currently holds a significant amount of bitcoin but has not maximized its strategic position as a unique store of value in the global financial system. The Executive Order begins to resolve the current disjointed handling of cryptocurrencies seized through forfeiture by, and scattered across, various Federal agencies. Currently, no clear policy exists for managing these assets, leading to a lack of accountability and inadequate exploration of options to centralize, secure, or maximize their value. Taking affirmative steps to centralize ownership, control, and management of these assets within the Federal government will ensure proper oversight, accurate tracking, and a cohesive approach to managing the government’s cryptoc