The White House issued an executive order directing the Department of the Treasury to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a United States Digital Asset Stockpile to centralize custody and set parameters for managing the US Government’s digital asset holdings. Bitcoin (BTC) transferred into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is to be held as reserve assets and “shall not be sold,” subject to applicable law. Treasury must establish offices to administer custodial accounts for both vehicles, initially capitalized with finally forfeited digital assets held by Treasury, including BTC for the reserve and non-BTC digital assets for the stockpile, subject to specified statutory exceptions. Each federal agency has 30 days to review its authority to transfer any Government BTC or other qualifying digital assets it holds and to report the results to the Secretary of the Treasury, and must also provide Treasury and the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets with a full accounting of any Government Digital Assets in its possession. The order generally restricts agencies from selling or otherwise disposing of Government Digital Assets, with carve-outs including Treasury’s lawful stewardship of the stockpile, court orders or legal requirements, and specified victim restitution and law enforcement-related uses; it also directs Treasury and the Department of Commerce to develop budget-neutral strategies to acquire additional BTC while prohibiting acquisition of additional non-BTC stockpile assets absent further executive or legislative action. Within 60 days, Treasury must deliver an evaluation of the legal and investment considerations for establishing and managing the reserve and stockpile going forward, including where the accounts should be located and whether legislation is needed to operationalize any aspect of the order.

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