Trump Administration’s US Bitcoin Reserve Turns One With No Strategy for Further Accumulation

On March 6, 2025, Trump signed an executive order establishing a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” using Bitcoin obtained through federal criminal and civil forfeitures. The assets would generally be held for the long term and not sold, while the Treasury and Commerce departments were directed to develop ways to acquire more Bitcoin without increasing costs to taxpayers. The initiative could determine whether crypto assets spread across federal agencies can be centrally managed and may also test the legal limits of the government holding highly volatile assets.

As of July 6, 2026, the plan had yet to be implemented, 16 months after its launch, and the White House acknowledged that it was still assessing the best structure. The Treasury and Commerce departments are competing for control, with disputed issues including whether the Treasury can legally hold Bitcoin indefinitely. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is coordinating efforts to find a workable approach. The government is estimated to hold more than 300,000 Bitcoin worth about $21 billion, but Congress has yet to pass authorizing legislation.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 6, 2025, establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that would generally hold BTC obtained through criminal or civil forfeiture for the long term. The Glenn Olivio case involved steroid trafficking and money laundering, making the seized cryptocurrency a test of whether the new policy is being implemented. Any transfer to an exchange also shapes market perceptions of the government’s approach to disposing of the assets.

Blockchain monitoring showed that the US government transferred 2.438177 BTC seized in the Glenn Olivio case to Coinbase Prime in two transactions on April 10, 2026. The Bitcoin was worth about $177,400. Although the amount was small, government-labeled addresses reportedly held 328,369.55 BTC. The purpose of the transfers remains unconfirmed, and the deposits alone do not establish that the Bitcoin was sold.

The U.S. government signed an executive order in 2025 outlining plans for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that would incorporate government-held crypto assets into national asset policy. The initiative is seen as a key test of whether the United States will elevate Bitcoin from a political commitment to an institutionalized reserve asset, with implications for governments and institutional investors worldwide.

David Bailey, a former Trump administration crypto adviser, recently told the Bitcoin Investor Week conference that the U.S. government had yet to actively accumulate Bitcoin since the executive order was signed, leaving implementation behind its public support. He criticized the current policy as remaining at the rhetorical stage of merely “liking Bitcoin” and urged the government to set out concrete purchasing and implementation plans as soon as possible.