The United States government holds 328,372 Bitcoin worth approximately $25.4 billion, and the White House says a formal announcement on the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is coming within weeks. Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets (PCAST), told attendees at Consensus 2026 in Miami on May 6 that the administration has resolved the legal obstacle blocking the reserve's formal status for over a year. He used a specific word: “breakthrough.”
TL;DR: Patrick Witt confirmed at Consensus 2026 on May 6 that the White House has cleared the legal path for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve covering 328,372 BTC. Congress is racing two competing bills, with a Senate Banking Committee markup expected by May 31.
Key Data
- BTC held by US government (Feb. 2026) 328,372 BTC
- Value at May 18, 2026 prices ~$25.4 billion
- Annual purchases proposed by ARMA (if passed) 200,000 BTC/year x 5 years
- Minimum holding period (ARMA) 20 years
- First open-market purchase projection if ARMA passes Q4 2026
Source: US Treasury / White House PCAST · May 18, 2026
Source: US Treasury / White House PCAST · May 18, 2026
How Does the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Work?
Trump's executive order of March 6, 2025, established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) as a permanent state reserve, funded exclusively with Bitcoin seized through criminal or civil proceedings. No open-market purchases: only forfeited assets. A parallel instrument, the Digital Asset Stockpile, holds other confiscated digital assets including Ethereum, XRP, and various altcoins. The two funds remain strictly separate.
The legal blockage centered on a set of questions that no agency had formally answered: which authorities permit federal agencies to hold these assets, for how long, and whether Congress could claw them back. Witt revealed that his deputy, Harry John, spent months building a rigorous legal framework, with specifically commissioned legal memos addressing each question. The “breakthrough” is the administration's definitive answer to all of them.
Making the SBR permanent law, though, requires Congress. Two bills are competing. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis's BITCOIN Act calls for buying 200,000 BTC per year for five years under a 20-year lock. The American Reserves Modernization Act (ARMA), introduced by Representative Nick Begich, is a rebranded version designed to attract broader bipartisan support. Lummis announced a markup at the Senate Banking Committee by the end of May. If the vote clears before the summer recess, the first open-market Bitcoin purchase by a sovereign government could happen in Q4 2026.
The US Marshals Case and the Corrupt Custodian
Functionally, witt cited the “recent exploit” of funds held in US Marshals custody as the direct catalyst for the breakthrough. The case involves John Daghita, a 21-year-old whose father leads CMDSS, the private contractor managing seized digital assets on behalf of the US Marshals. Daghita allegedly stole more than $46 million in crypto, including funds linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack, before being arrested in Saint Martin on March 5, 2026, in a joint FBI and French Gendarmerie operation.
On-chain investigator ZachXBT had documented the fund movements publicly in January. The case exposed a problem the White House could no longer sidestep: $25 billion in federal Bitcoin rested on a private contractor with no adequate federal oversight. Resolving that custody gap consumed the administration's last three months of legal work. That resolution is the breakthrough Witt announced.
The Clarity Act, which passed committee on May 14 with a 15-9 vote, connects directly to the SBR story. The market-structure bill defines what a digital asset is and who regulates it; the SBR defines what the government does with its own holdings. The sell-off earlier this week overshadowed both developments, but didn't erase them. Coinbase, which already secured a federal OCC trust charter, is widely seen as the leading custodian candidate for SBR funds if Congress passes the legislation. The timing is unlikely to be coincidental.
Citi flagged a quantum-computing risk in May, noting that 25% of the total Bitcoin supply already has its public key visible on-chain, according to Citi research. Securing $25 billion in hardware under federal supervision isn't purely political. It's a pressing technical requirement. Institutional analysts broadly agree on one scenario: if the US codifies the SBR into law, other sovereign states are likely to follow within 18 months. Goldman Sachs, with its income ETF awaiting SEC approval, is already positioned for that moment.
The Lummis markup at the Senate Banking Committee is expected by May 31. If it slips past November's midterm elections, the next viable legislative window opens in 2028. Bitcoin was priced at $77,277 on May 18, per CoinGecko data, reflecting a market that hasn't fully priced in a successful outcome. If the White House's formal announcement lands before the end of June, that price may look like a distant memory sooner than most expect. Coinbase and the major platforms are already repositioned for either outcome.
