US Congress wants Treasury to detail plan for Bitcoin reserve

The United States Treasury Department may soon be directed to evaluate and report on the feasibility, custody, and legal framework for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and federal digital asset holdings, as mandated in a new bill presented to Congress last Friday.

Introduced by Representative David P. Joyce, the House appropriations bill includes provisions that could accelerate the US government’s exploration of sovereign digital asset management. 

The bill, if passed, would specifically task the Treasury Department with producing a comprehensive report within 90 days of the bill’s enactment. 

This report would assess not only the technical and legal feasibility of creating a federal Bitcoin reserve but also outline interagency transfer mechanisms, custody models, and cybersecurity protocols required to manage such assets securely.

Among other agendas, the bill also calls for clarity on how digital assets, whether Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, would be represented on the federal balance sheet. 

Lawmakers are also looking for more transparency around third-party contractors who might be engaged to safeguard the government’s holdings.

Another key component of the bill is its focus on fiscal implications, with the bill asking the Treasury to weigh potential impacts on the Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund, which is traditionally used for managing assets seized in federal criminal investigations.

The question here is whether re-routing some of these assets into a sovereign reserve could alter how those funds are typically allocated or replenished.

Building on Trump’s Bitcoin reserve executive order

The renewed momentum behind this legislative effort builds on a March 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which formally established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a companion Digital Asset Stockpile.

That order, announced during the White House Crypto Summit, marked a turning point in US crypto policy. 

According to the White House fact sheet, the reserve would be capitalised initially with Bitcoin seized in criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings, transforming assets once destined for liquidation into a long-term national store of value.

At the time, David Sacks, appointed as Trump’s AI and crypto czar, described the reserve as “a digital Fort Knox,” as he stressed that the US government will not sell the Bitcoin placed into the reserve.

Instead, it would be held as a strategic hedge against fiat instability, acting on the gold-standard principles but for the digital age. 

At the time of the announcement, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence estimated that the US government controlled nearly $18.3 billion in crypto, including over 198,000 BTC. 

More countries are considering strategic crypto reserves

While the US continues to shape its digital asset policy, several other countries have already moved ahead with similar strategies in the meantime.

The latest entrant is Kazakhstan, where President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the creation of a National Digital Asset Fund as part of his vision for a new digital financial system.

The fund will be managed by the Investment Corporation of the National Bank and would eventually build a reserve of high-potential cryptocurrencies, not limited to Bitcoin.

Elsewhere, Brazil has entered the early stages of its own national Bitcoin reserve debate.

On August 20, the Chamber of Deputies held a formal hearing to discuss a related bill introduced by Representative Luiz Philippe de Orleans e Bragança, which calls for the creation of a Bitcoin reserve.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act was introduced by Congressman Miguel Luis Villafuerte in August.

The bill would mandate the country’s central bank to purchase 2,000 BTC every year over a period of five years.

If passed, the country would be able to amass 10,000 BTC in a tightly controlled reserve that would remain locked for two decades, save for cases involving sovereign debt repayment. 

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