Trump says the US is considering building sizable Bitcoin and crypto holdings, but a 2025 executive order still limits Treasury to forfeitures, gifts, and a few narrow channels. Congress would need to grant new authority and funding before Washington could run a recurring, multibillion-dollar buying program.
President Trump said on Aug. 20 that the US is considering accumulating sizable amounts of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, though current law hands his administration no funded, public program for open-market purchases. Treasury already has a lawful path to grow Bitcoin reserves under Trump's 2025 executive order, but a bigger federal buying program still runs through Congress.
What Treasury can already do
Trump's 2025 executive order directs Treasury and Commerce to develop budget-neutral acquisition strategies for Bitcoin, while non-Bitcoin purchases stay limited to forfeiture and civil-money-penalty channels unless a new order or law changes that. Qualifying Bitcoin obtained through forfeiture already enters the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and in January 2026 the US obtained legal title to more than $400 million in cryptocurrencies and other assets tied to the Helix mixer case. Section 321(d) of Title 31 also lets the Treasury secretary accept donated property, giving the department a plausible statutory basis to accept donated Bitcoin into the federal framework.
Why Congress still controls the bigger bid
A second executive order could remove the current restriction on non-Bitcoin assets such as Ethereum, XRP, and Solana, but Congress still controls federal appropriations and the investment powers statutes reserve to lawmakers. The BITCOIN Act would direct Treasury to purchase 200,000 BTC per year for five years, while a separate bill, the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026, would let Treasury convert non-Bitcoin stockpile assets into Bitcoin — neither has become law. Trump's proposed sovereign wealth fund also lacks a funded general investment mandate, and former Fed chair Jerome Powell has said the Fed lacks authority to own Bitcoin under existing law.
The bull and bear case ahead
A BITCOIN Act-style program could give Treasury a clear financing mechanism and scheduled purchases that investors could model, while a narrower bill could instead authorize stockpile conversions or Bitcoin tax payments. Without new legislation, the bear case has Washington building crypto holdings only through forfeitures, gifts, and tax-payment rules that could remain under study. Trump has more room to widen how crypto flows into federal custody, but a recurring, multibillion-dollar buying program still needs Congress to supply the authority, the funding mechanism, or both.
Source: CryptoSlate
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