Trump seeks federal Bitcoin buildup, Congress holds funding power

On Aug. 20, President Donald Trump announced the United States is weighing accumulation of large amounts of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Any multibillion-dollar open-market buying program would require congressional authorization for funding.

The 2025 executive order directs the Treasury and Commerce departments to design budget-neutral acquisition plans for Bitcoin and to study a broader Digital Asset Stockpile. The order bars additional non-Bitcoin acquisitions except through forfeiture and civil money-penalty channels unless further executive or legislative action occurs. The order also requires implementation to comply with existing law and available appropriations.

Under current practice, Bitcoin obtained through final criminal or civil forfeiture can be placed in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Qualifying non-Bitcoin assets are held in a separate Digital Asset Stockpile. In January 2026 the government obtained legal title to more than $400 million in crypto and other assets tied to the Helix mixer case. Restitution to victims and other legal obligations can reduce what Treasury retains.

Title 31, Section 321(d) allows the Treasury secretary to accept gifts of personal property that aid Treasury’s work. Bitcoin is treated as personal property for tax purposes, and Treasury already administers the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, so donations of Bitcoin could be accepted and held. A supplemental executive order could clarify donated crypto’s treatment, but gifts are voluntary and do not offer a predictable scale for accumulation.

Section 6311 of the Internal Revenue Code lets Treasury accept taxes by commercially acceptable means. The IRS does not accept digital assets at present. The Bitcoin for America Act would permit federal tax payments in Bitcoin and direct those receipts into the reserve, but the bill has not become law. Treasury would need regulatory change or new statutory authority to accept and retain tax-paid crypto on a recurring basis.

Converting or selling non-Bitcoin stockpile assets to buy Bitcoin is constrained by federal fiscal rules because government receipts generally flow into Treasury and require congressional authorization for reuse. The American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 would authorize Treasury to sell non-Bitcoin assets and use proceeds to expand the Bitcoin reserve or reduce federal debt. The BITCOIN Act would add Bitcoin to the Exchange Stabilization Fund and authorize purchases of 200,000 BTC per year for five years; Congress has not enacted that proposal.

The Federal Reserve’s open-market authority does not cover cryptocurrencies, and former Fed chair Jerome Powell has said the Fed lacks authority to own Bitcoin under current law. The platinum-coin statute and proposals for a sovereign wealth fund do not by themselves authorize funded federal Bitcoin purchases because Congress controls appropriations and the statutory purposes of federal spending.

Under existing law and practice, the clearest channels for federal crypto to increase are forfeiture, civil penalties, voluntary donations and any future tax receipts if regulations or statutes change. For a scheduled, funded federal buying program to operate, Congress would need to pass a statute that specifies authorized purchases and a funding mechanism.