White House Says Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Announcement Is Imminent as Legal Groundwork Clears

A formal White House announcement on the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is imminent, with the official leading the effort saying the legal groundwork is complete. Bitcoin markets are watching closely.

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Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, told an interviewer this week that the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) formal announcement is coming soon. Witt described the preparatory work as a "breakthrough," signaling that the legal, custody, and reporting infrastructure is now in place.

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"We'll Have an Announcement"

We'll have an announcement. I wish I could say more. It's a breakthrough as far as getting everything in place, legally sound, properly safeguarding the assets.

Patrick Witt, Executive Director, President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets

Witt had previously told the crowd at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas that an update was coming within weeks. This week's interview confirms the administration has cleared a major legal hurdle in formally standing up the reserve.

President Trump signed the executive order establishing the SBR on March 6, 2025. That order bars the Treasury from selling a single coin held in the reserve.

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Current Holdings: 328,372 BTC

The reserve currently holds an estimated 328,372 BTC, roughly 1.6% of Bitcoin's total global supply. The holdings were accumulated through law enforcement seizures — including the Silk Road takedown, the 2022 Bitfinex hack recovery, and years of criminal forfeitures.

A breach at the U.S. Marshals Service underscored why secure custody infrastructure is urgent. A government contractor named John Daghita allegedly stole more than $46 million in cryptocurrency from USMS custody accounts in late 2025 and was arrested by the FBI in March 2026. A separate $24 million theft was traced to October 2024.

• Current SBR holdings: approximately 328,372 BTC (~1.6% of total global supply)
• Acquisition path: Silk Road, Bitfinex hack recovery, criminal forfeiture proceedings
• Sale restriction: executive order bars Treasury from selling any held Bitcoin
• Security incident: USMS contractor stole $46M+ in crypto, FBI arrest in March 2026

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ARMA: Congressional Legislation for Long-Term Legal Grounding

Executive orders expire the moment a new president takes office — a fundamental vulnerability for the SBR. Rep. Nick Begich has rebranded the BITCOIN Act as the American Reserves Modernization Act (ARMA), which aims to create a permanent legislative foundation.

ARMA would authorize the Treasury to purchase up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, with holdings locked for a minimum of 20 years. Senator Cynthia Lummis is pushing for a vote before the summer recess as midterm campaigning picks up. If ARMA passes, Treasury's first open-market Bitcoin purchase is projected for Q4 2026.

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First Sovereign Nation to Actively Accumulate Bitcoin

If ARMA clears Congress, the U.S. would become the first sovereign nation to actively buy Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset on the open market. At approximately $100,000 per coin, the authorized annual purchase volume could represent up to $20 billion per year in open-market demand.

Bitcoin-linked equities including MicroStrategy (MSTR), Marathon Digital (MARA), and Riot Platforms (RIOT), as well as exchange operator Coinbase (COIN), are seen as direct beneficiaries of the policy momentum building in Washington.

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