Supporters of the U.S. Bitcoin reserve have spent the year observing the stagnation of Trump’s directive.

The executive order for the establishment of President Donald Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve has been pending congressional action, with reports suggesting one remaining proposal for 2026.

President Donald Trump initiated a bitcoin reserve a year ago, yet it has not been established. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Key points:

• The administration of President Donald Trump has concluded that congressional action is necessary to activate the proposed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, leaving his executive order waiting for a year for implementation.
• Sources knowledgeable about the legislative efforts indicate that a defense bill towards the end of the year may serve as a suitable venue for 2026.

President Donald Trump’s initiative to create what he termed a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” within the federal framework was met with enthusiasm from the crypto community at the beginning of his tenure. The sector celebrated it as a significant step toward recognizing bitcoin BTC$68,007.86 as a legitimate asset, but a year has gone by without the reserve being created.

Trump’s administration completed the preliminary task of auditing the government’s crypto assets, but the formation of the U.S. bitcoin reserve remains stagnant due to the stipulation in the March 6, 2025, order: “the necessity for any legislation to make any part of this order operational.” The Treasury Department under Trump lacks the necessary permissions to establish the specialized accounts. This requires congressional action, which the White House has acknowledged, with Trump’s crypto adviser, Patrick Witt, stating that the situation presents “novel legal questions” that need clarification.

Legislators like Senator Cynthia Lummis have proposed reserve legislation, and according to insiders familiar with the legislative strategy, the best opportunity for approval might be to integrate it into the National Defense Authorization Act at the year’s end. However, Trump’s White House would likely need to reaffirm the issue as a priority for this to occur.

Speculation regarding the planning and financing of the reserve — along with a separate digital assets repository also mandated by Trump to accumulate various cryptocurrencies — has fluctuated. Recently, CNBC contributor Jim Cramer circulated a rumor that Trump’s team was ready to start populating the reserve when BTC reached $60,000, despite the absence of a designated location or funds to acquire it.

The president’s crypto officials remain reticent when questioned about the exact amount of bitcoin held by the federal government, although some estimates suggest it exceeds 300,000, totaling more than $20 billion.

The primary disappointment from the crypto community regarding Trump’s bitcoin order was the lack of new government acquisitions of the leading cryptocurrency. Instead, it fostered innovative policies that would permit the government to increase its holdings without utilizing taxpayer money.

Witt, Trump’s adviser, has not disclosed the main strategies for obtaining additional bitcoin for the fund, which is intended for long-term growth rather than functioning as a strategic reserve implying the release of its contents during emergencies.

The White House did not respond to a request for comments regarding the stagnation in progress, highlighting that executive orders — a hallmark of Trump’s administration — do not carry the force of law and often serve merely as a high-level direction from the president.

If Trump’s congressional supporters devise a plan to insert the reserve bill into the defense legislation later this year, that legislative process typically wraps up in December. The essential funding bill is often utilized as what insiders in Washington refer to as a “Christmas tree,” a piece of legislation on which various unrelated bill provisions can be attached, as it must pass. If this is the intended strategy, it would occur during this session’s “lame duck” period, when some members of Congress will have been voted out or opted to retire — like Lummis — but have not yet left office.

Lummis’ proposed bitcoin reserve bill advocates for a spending initiative that aims to secure the U.S. a holding of a million tokens — approximately 5% of the total eventual supply. The Wyoming Republican, who is the first chair of the Senate Banking Committee’s inaugural digital assets subcommittee, has thus far only succeeded in advancing the legislation to the committee level, but the panel’s primary focus is another crypto-related issue: the passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.

Read More: Why Doesn’t the U.S. Have a Bitcoin Reserve, Yet?