The United States government holds an estimated 328,372 BTC — approximately $26.2 billion at current prices — making it the largest known sovereign bitcoin holder on Earth. Despite signing an executive order in March 2025 establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), the White House has spent...
"We had cold wallets that were being stored in drawers of desks in various agencies." — Patrick Witt, Executive Director, President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets
The United States government holds an estimated 328,372 BTC — approximately $26.2 billion at current prices — making it the largest known sovereign bitcoin holder on Earth. Despite signing an executive order in March 2025 establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), the White House has spent more than a year consolidating, auditing, and securing holdings scattered across federal agencies before making public disclosures.
On May 6, 2026, White House digital assets adviser Patrick Witt told attendees at CoinDesk's Consensus Miami that a formal SBR update is coming "in the next few weeks." The announcement follows a $46 million theft from U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) custodial wallets by a contractor's son — an incident that exposed fundamental weaknesses in federal crypto custody and accelerated the consolidation timeline.
Codification into statute remains incomplete. The BITCOIN Act of 2025, introduced by Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative Nick Begich, proposes acquiring 1 million BTC over five years funded by revaluing the Treasury's gold certificates from $42.22 per ounce to market value. The bill's most realistic legislative vehicle is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) markup expected in late 2026.
The federal government's bitcoin holdings originate primarily from criminal and civil asset forfeiture proceedings. Major sources include the 2013 Silk Road seizure, the 2016 Bitfinex hack recovery, and ongoing enforcement actions by the DOJ, FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation.
As of February 2026, reported holdings stand at approximately 328,372 BTC. At bitcoin's May 8, 2026 price of $79,743, that position is valued at approximately $26.2 billion.
White House crypto chief David Sacks ordered a full audit of federal bitcoin holdings upon taking office, describing the initiative as creating a "digital Fort Knox." The audit revealed systemic disorganization: hardware wallets stored in desk drawers, no centralized inventory, no standardized custody protocols across agencies, and inconsistent chain-of-custody documentation.
On April 17, 2026, the U.S. government transferred approximately $606,000 in bitcoin linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack to Coinbase Prime, according to CoinDesk reporting. The USMS already maintains a custody relationship with Coinbase for large-cap digital assets, though it remains unclear whether this arrangement extends to all SBR-designated holdings.
In January 2026, blockchain investigator ZachXBT identified suspicious activity in wallets associated with U.S. government seizure addresses. The U.S. Marshals Service confirmed it was investigating a possible hack of government digital-asset accounts.
The investigation culminated on March 5, 2026, when the FBI arrested John Daghita on the island of Saint Martin. According to federal prosecutors, Daghita — the 21-year-old son of a government contractor whose company (CMDSS) held a USMS custody contract — allegedly exploited his father's access to steal over $46 million in seized crypto from government wallets.
Key details from the case, according to TRM Labs and CoinDesk reporting:
TRM Labs confirmed that approximately $24.9 million of traced funds originated from a government-controlled wallet. The incident validated long-standing concerns about the federal government's fragmented custody infrastructure and its reliance on third-party contractors for securing multi-billion-dollar positions.
President Trump's March 6, 2025 executive order established two distinct entities:
The order directed:
The executive order alone lacks the permanence of statute. A future administration could reverse it. This is why Witt emphasized at Consensus 2026 that legislation remains necessary to codify the reserve.
Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the BITCOIN Act of 2025 (S. 954) on March 11, 2025, with a companion House bill from Representative Nick Begich. The legislation would:
The bill was referred to the Senate Banking Committee upon introduction. As of May 2026, it has not advanced to markup. According to reporting by CoinDesk and The Block, the most viable path forward is attachment to the NDAA, which is considered must-pass legislation and frequently carries provisions that cannot advance as standalone bills.
If the BITCOIN Act passes via the NDAA markup expected in late 2026, the Treasury could begin its first official market purchases of bitcoin in Q4 2026 — making the United States the first major sovereign to actively accumulate bitcoin as a declared strategic asset.
The BITCOIN Act's funding structure centers on a financial arbitrage in the Treasury's gold accounting.
The United States holds 261.5 million troy ounces of gold — the world's largest official gold reserve. Under a 1973 statutory valuation, this gold is carried on the Treasury's books at $42.22 per ounce, producing a stated value of approximately $11 billion. At May 2026 market prices (approximately $2,350 per ounce), the actual market value exceeds $614 billion.
Under the BITCOIN Act:
This approach technically qualifies as "budget neutral" because it does not require new appropriations — it merely marks existing assets to market. Critics note it represents a de facto money-creation mechanism. The Atlantic Council and other policy analysts have questioned whether this accounting shift constitutes genuine fiscal neutrality.
Two U.S. states have enacted bitcoin reserve legislation:
New Hampshire (signed May 2025): Authorizes the state treasurer to invest up to 5% of state funds in crypto ETFs and precious metals including gold. The first state to pass such legislation.
Arizona (signed May 2025): Redirects proceeds from unclaimed property into bitcoin and "top-tier digital assets." Takes a different approach from New Hampshire's direct investment authority.
Texas: The state comptroller purchased approximately $5 million in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) on November 20, 2025, when BTC traded at $91,336. Texas was among the first states to use public funds for bitcoin ETF exposure.
Several additional state-level bills are under consideration in the 2026 legislative session, though none have reached the governor's desk as of this writing.
The U.S. initiative exists within a broader geopolitical competition for bitcoin accumulation:
| Country | Est. Holdings (BTC) | Method | Status | |---------|---------------------|--------|--------| | United States | ~328,372 | Seizure/forfeiture | Executive order signed; legislation pending | | China | ~190,000 | Seizure (est.) | No formal reserve; periodic liquidations reported | | El Salvador | ~7,500 | Direct market purchase | Active accumulation since 2021 | | Bhutan | ~12,062 | State-run hydropower mining | Holdings ~40% of GDP | | Brazil | 0 (proposed) | RESBit bill: 1M BTC over 5 years | Legislation reintroduced Feb 2026 | | Switzerland | 0 | Referendum campaign | Failed; collected 50,000 of 100,000 required signatures (May 2026) |
Brazil represents the most aggressive proposed challenger. The RESBit bill, reintroduced by Federal Deputy Luiz Gastão in February 2026, contemplates acquiring 1 million BTC over five years — identical to the Lummis target. At current prices, this would cost approximately $80 billion. The bill prohibits the sale of judicially seized bitcoins and allows federal tax collection in bitcoin.
Switzerland's campaign for a constitutional amendment requiring the Swiss National Bank to hold bitcoin fell short of the 100,000-signature threshold in May 2026, collecting only approximately 50,000 signatures. The SNB had publicly opposed the proposal, citing volatility and liquidity concerns.
Bhutan has accumulated bitcoin through state-supported mining operations leveraging the country's abundant hydropower capacity. Its holdings of approximately 12,062 BTC represent roughly 40% of national GDP — the highest concentration of any sovereign bitcoin holder.
At $79,743 per BTC (May 8, 2026), the proposed BITCOIN Act acquisition of 1 million BTC would cost approximately $80 billion at current prices — though a multi-year accumulation program would face price impact.
Key supply-side considerations:
The BITCOIN Act would, if fully executed, make the U.S. government the largest single holder of bitcoin, exceeding Satoshi Nakamoto's estimated 1.1 million BTC only by close approach. Bitcoin ETFs currently hold approximately $102 billion in AUM (per existing reporting). A government buyer acquiring at a rate exceeding new supply issuance would represent a structural demand shock without precedent.
Market reaction to the May 6 Consensus announcement was muted. BTC traded at approximately $81,023 on May 7, up 1.6% from the prior day. Analysts attribute the limited response to the fact that no concrete timeline or legislative vote schedule accompanied Witt's remarks.
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve remains in a liminal state — established by executive fiat but not yet secured by statute, audited in principle but not disclosed in detail, and governed by custody arrangements that a 21-year-old contractor's son was able to breach for $46 million.
The forthcoming announcement, expected in late May or early June 2026, will reportedly provide specifics on the audit completion, the consolidated custody framework, and the operational structure of the reserve. It will not, however, resolve the legislative question. Without Congressional action, the SBR remains reversible by any successor administration.
The gold revaluation mechanism represents the most financially significant proposal in the BITCOIN Act — effectively marking $600+ billion in accounting gains to fund bitcoin purchases. Whether Congress views this as "budget neutral" or as implicit money creation will likely determine the bill's fate.
For now, the United States holds the world's largest sovereign bitcoin position by accident of enforcement. Whether it becomes a deliberate strategic asset depends on a late-2026 NDAA vote that has not yet been scheduled.