The White House's efforts to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve are facing unexpected delays due to legal complexities, according to Patrick Witt, director of the White House Crypto Council. Despite ongoing discussions and the initiative being a priority for the administration, "obscure" inter-agency legal issues are creating roadblocks.
The initiative stems from an executive order issued in March 2025, which aimed to create both a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile. However, implementation has been hampered by disagreements and regulatory concerns among government agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).
Witt highlighted a specific challenge: "obscure legal provisions that prevent one agency from acting while another could". He also noted that the executive order limits the government to acquiring Bitcoin through asset forfeiture cases, preventing purchases on the open market. This restriction has drawn criticism from some members of the Bitcoin community. Bitcoin maximalists argue that the executive order "lacks actionable intent and is not based in reality".
While the federal government grapples with these legal hurdles, several U.S. states are moving forward with integrating Bitcoin into their financial systems. Texas, in particular, has emerged as a hub for Bitcoin mining and is considering adding Bitcoin to its public balance sheet.
The delays in establishing a federal Bitcoin reserve raise questions about the U.S. government's approach to cryptocurrency regulation and its ability to compete with other nations that are more actively embracing digital assets. Regulatory developments continue to shape who can access Bitcoin and under what terms. The U.S. is reportedly working towards a market-structure law to clarify regulatory responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The situation underscores the challenges of integrating a decentralized technology like Bitcoin into existing legal and regulatory frameworks. The outcome of these inter-agency discussions and the development of market-structure laws will likely have a significant impact on the future of Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency industry in the United States. The administration faces the challenge of resolving these obscure legal provisions to allow effective action across different agencies. The executive order currently restricts the government from purchasing Bitcoin on the open market, limiting acquisitions to asset forfeiture cases.
