US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: One Year Later, the “Digital Fort Knox” Remains a Mirage
📋 En bref (TL;DR)
- One year to the day: the Executive Order creating the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve was signed on March 6, 2025
- Zero additional BTC purchases since signing. No federal agency designated to manage the reserve
- ~200,000 BTC seized (Silk Road, Bitfinex) form the initial stockpile, estimated at ~$14.6 billion at current prices
- The DOJ sold 57 BTC in November 2025, potentially violating the Executive Order
- US states are moving faster: Texas and New Hampshire have already passed their own laws
- Three Congressional bills (Lummis, Donalds, Begich) aim to codify the reserve into law, but none have been voted on
Exactly one year ago, on March 6, 2025, Donald Trump signed a historic Executive Order. The stated goal: create a “Digital Fort Knox” by establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the United States. David Sacks, the White House “AI and crypto czar,” promised it would “not cost taxpayers a single cent.” Twelve months later, the assessment is clear: no purchases, no operational structure, and a BTC stockpile that has lost $2.4 billion in value.
What the Executive Order promised
Executive Order 14233, published in the Federal Register on March 11, 2025, created two distinct entities. The first, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, was to hold exclusively BTC treated as a long-term store of value. The second, the Digital Asset Stockpile, targeted other digital assets (ETH, XRP, SOL, ADA).
The mechanism was simple on paper. The reserve would be capitalized with BTC already held by the federal government from judicial seizures. Bitcoins deposited into the reserve “shall not be sold.” All federal agencies had 30 days to submit a complete inventory of their cryptocurrency holdings to the Secretary of the Treasury.
The Treasury and Department of Commerce were mandated to develop “budget-neutral strategies” for acquiring additional BTC. Bo Hines, executive director of the digital assets advisory council, notably mentioned revaluing the Treasury’s gold certificates. Currently valued at the statutory rate of $42.22 per ounce (while gold exceeds $5,400), updating them would theoretically free up billions.
200,000 seized BTC: a treasure lying fallow
The reserve’s initial stock consists of approximately 200,000 BTC seized in criminal cases. The main sources: Silk Road seizures (~95,000 BTC), James Zhong’s 50,676 BTC (fraudulently obtained from Silk Road in 2012), and the ~94,000 BTC recovered after the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
At the BTC price when the order was signed (~$87,000), this stock was worth approximately $17 billion. At today’s $73,000, the value drops to around $14.6 billion — a $2.4 billion loss before any purchase was even made. Critics see this as proof of the volatility risk inherent in such a project.
Even more concerning: asset management relies on Excel spreadsheets. According to the Washington Monthly, the US Marshals Service uses “supplementary spreadsheets” because the Department of Justice’s asset tracking system is not designed for cryptocurrencies. Auditors have found discrepancies between these spreadsheets and the official system.
A year of bureaucratic paralysis
Patrick Witt, executive director of the presidential digital assets advisory council, acknowledged the situation on the “Crypto in America” podcast on January 13, 2026:
“It sounds simple, but then you run into obscure legal provisions, and why this agency can’t do it, but actually that other one could.”
The obstacles are numerous. Jurisdictional confusion between the DOJ, Treasury, Commerce, and Office of Legal Counsel blocks any progress. Existing laws on federal reserve management were written for physical assets and traditional securities. No agency has been officially designated for operational management.
One episode illustrates this chaos. In November 2025, the DOJ apparently sold 57 BTC seized from Samourai Wallet developers via Coinbase Prime. This sale potentially violated the Executive Order’s “shall not be sold” clause. The US Marshals Service contested these reports, adding to the confusion.
Congress steps in, with no results
Facing the impasse, three bills have been introduced in Congress. Senator Cynthia Lummis presented the BITCOIN Act (S.954) on March 11, 2025. This legislation would authorize the Treasury to buy 1 million BTC over five years (200,000 per year), funded by Fed remittances and gold revaluation.
Representative Byron Donalds filed H.R.2112 on March 14, 2025. The goal: give “force of law” to the Executive Order so that a future president cannot dismantle it by simple decree.
A third bill (H.R.2032), the House version of the BITCOIN Act, was introduced by Representative Nick Begich. None of these three bills have been put to a vote.
US states are leading the way
Ironically, US states are moving faster than Washington. New Hampshire was the first, in May 2025, to authorize its treasurer to invest up to 5% of public funds in digital assets with a market cap exceeding $500 billion (only BTC qualifies).
Texas followed in June 2025 with two laws signed by Governor Abbott. The Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve made its first purchase in November 2025: approximately $5 million in shares of the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF.
Other states (Michigan, Arizona) have projects underway. Internationally, Brazil reintroduced a plan targeting 1 million BTC over five years. The Czech Republic is studying allocating 5% of its reserves to Bitcoin. Switzerland launched a constitutional amendment initiative requiring the national bank to hold BTC, with signature collection underway.
What to take away from this first year
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve illustrates a recurring pattern in American politics. The spectacular announcement collides with bureaucratic complexity. Existing laws, designed for gold and Treasury bonds, don’t adapt to digital assets. Confusion between agencies stalls any operational decision.
Yet the political signal remains strong. The United States holds roughly 200,000 BTC. Several countries are launching their own initiatives. US states are acting as pioneers. The question is no longer whether governments will hold Bitcoin, but when and how they will organize that holding.
📚 Glossary
- Bitcoin (BTC): the first decentralized cryptocurrency, created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Operates on a peer-to-peer network without intermediaries.
- Digital Fort Knox: expression used by David Sacks to describe the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, referencing the American gold depository.
- Executive Order: a US presidential directive with the force of law without requiring Congressional approval. Can be revoked by a future president.
- ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund): an investment fund traded on stock exchanges that tracks the price of an asset, allowing investment without direct ownership.
- Silk Road: an illegal online marketplace shut down by the FBI in 2013. Associated Bitcoin seizures constitute a major portion of the US government’s crypto holdings.
- Volatility: a measure of the amplitude of an asset’s price variations. Bitcoin is known for its high volatility compared to traditional assets.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?
It is a national Bitcoin reserve created by a Donald Trump Executive Order on March 6, 2025. It is capitalized with approximately 200,000 BTC seized in criminal cases (Silk Road, Bitfinex). The goal: create a “Digital Fort Knox” at no cost to taxpayers.
How much Bitcoin does the US government hold?
The government holds approximately 200,000 BTC, primarily from Silk Road seizures (~95,000 BTC), the James Zhong case (~50,676 BTC), and the Bitfinex hack (~94,000 BTC). At current prices, this represents about $14.6 billion.
Why is the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve not progressing?
The reserve is stalled by bureaucratic complexity: jurisdictional confusion between federal agencies (DOJ, Treasury, Commerce), existing laws unsuited to digital assets, and no designated managing agency. Three Congressional bills are pending.
Do other countries have Bitcoin reserves?
Yes. El Salvador has been accumulating BTC since 2021 (about 7,500 BTC). Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland have legislative projects underway. China and the UK hold approximately 190,000 and 61,000 seized BTC respectively.
Can US states buy Bitcoin?
Yes. New Hampshire authorized investing 5% of public funds in BTC as early as May 2025. Texas created its own reserve and bought approximately $5 million in Bitcoin ETF shares in November 2025. Other states have projects in progress.
📰 Sources
This article is based on the following sources:
- White House — Executive Order 14233 – Full text of the presidential order, March 6, 2025
- BlockEden — One Year Later: Why America’s SBR Remains in Bureaucratic Limbo – Detailed analysis of legal obstacles, January 2026
- Washington Monthly — The $22 Billion Spreadsheet Problem – Investigation into chaotic BTC custody management, February 2026
- CNBC — Led by Texas, US States Race to Put Bitcoin on Public Balance Sheet – State-level progress, January 2026
- Congress.gov — S.954 BITCOIN Act of 2025 – Senator Lummis’s bill
How to cite this article: Fibo Crypto. (2026). US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: One Year Later, the “Digital Fort Knox” Remains a Mirage. Retrieved March 6, 2026 from https://fibo-crypto.fr/en/blog/us-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-one-year-assessment-march-2026
