Bitcoin’s ability to rise on Monday despite fresh doubts over the reserve’s legal footing suggests the market is treating the plan as a longer-term structural question rather than an immediate price driver. With the federal government’s holdings worth more than $20 billion, any eventual resolution, whether housed at Treasury or Commerce, could still matter for supply dynamics given Washington’s status as one of the world’s largest Bitcoin holders. For now, traders appear more focused on broader momentum than on the bureaucratic wrangling in Washington, even with the token still down nearly half from its October peak.
—
A dispute between the US Treasury and Commerce departments over legal authority to run Trump’s planned Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is holding up the policy, even as Bitcoin itself rose on Monday despite the uncertainty.
Adding to the impressiveness of the Bitcoin rally is it was in the face of a high profile puke:
By the fact!
Summary:
- Treasury and Commerce departments are both vying to run the planned Strategic Bitcoin Reserve amid questions over legal authority
- Housing the reserve at the Commerce Department is being considered as an alternative to Treasury
- A central issue is whether Bitcoin can legally be held indefinitely given its price volatility
- The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is working with both departments to find a legally viable structure
- The US government holds more than $20 billion in Bitcoin across various agencies, among the largest holdings globally
- Bitcoin is down nearly 50% from its October all-time high, though it rose on Monday
A plan to create a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, one of the centrepieces of President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto agenda, has run into an unexpected obstacle: rival government departments and unresolved questions over who has the legal authority to manage it. Trump ordered the reserve’s creation last year, intending for it to sit within the Treasury Department and be stocked with Bitcoin from federal asset seizures along with possible future purchases. But according to people familiar with the matter, says Bloomberg (gated) concerns emerged over whether Treasury could legally manage such a holding, prompting officials to explore alternatives including housing the reserve at the Commerce Department instead.
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is now working with both departments to identify options that would let the policy proceed on solid legal footing. A further complication is whether Bitcoin can be held indefinitely, as Trump’s original executive order envisioned, given how sharply its price can swing. The White House said the administration continues to evaluate the best structure for the reserve and a related digital asset stockpile, while Treasury and Commerce did not respond to requests for comment.
The stakes are considerable. Counting holdings across different parts of the federal government, the United States is already among the largest Bitcoin owners in the world, with a stash worth more than $20 billion at current prices. Officials have argued that premature sales over the years cost taxpayers roughly $17 billion, and that consolidating the holdings into a single, permanently held reserve would give the country a strategic edge. Bitcoin itself remains volatile, trading nearly 50% below the all time high it reached in October, though it still managed to post a gain on Monday even as the reserve’s legal troubles became public. The delays underscore the gap between the administration’s ambitions to position the US as the leading hub for cryptocurrency and the practical difficulty of building durable government infrastructure around an asset whose value can swing so widely.
