U.S. Treasury Moves Ahead With Plans for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as Congress Weighs Digital Asset Bills
The U.S. Treasury is moving forward with work to set up a strategic Bitcoin reserve, proceeding at what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described as a \u0022cautious pace\u0022 during a June 3 hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, according to CoinDesk.
Bessent said the effort follows an executive order signed by President Trump in March 2025 that instructs the Treasury to build custody and management systems for digital assets held by the federal government. He characterized the task as complex and said the department is focused on a sustainable, long-term approach, noting that creating a national Bitcoin reserve would be unprecedented.
The U.S. government currently holds about 328,372 BTC, valued at roughly $20.6 billion based on the figures cited. Treasury's bitcoin holdings largely come from criminal and civil forfeitures.
Alongside the reserve work, Bessent pressed lawmakers to advance the CLARITY Act for Digital Asset Markets, calling it \u0022essential\u0022 for U.S. competitiveness in digital assets and for keeping more business activity and regulatory practice in the United States. The bill seeks to establish a broader regulatory framework for digital assets, including clarifying when tokens fall under securities regulation versus commodities oversight. The Senate Banking Committee voted last month to send the measure to the full Senate, though additional votes remain contested.
On the reserve front, congressional proposals continue to develop. Senator Cynthia Lummis, sponsor of the previously introduced BITCOIN Act that would authorize the U.S. government to buy up to 1 million bitcoin, said after attending the hearing that the topic has shifted from the policy margins into the mainstream. In the House, Representative Nick Begich reintroduced the American Reserve Modernization Act in April. By May, Congress had introduced the ARMA Act, aiming to put the reserve program into statute rather than relying solely on executive authority.
The policy push is unfolding on two tracks: Treasury is working to institutionalize the management of existing government-held bitcoin, while Congress debates legislation to provide a more durable legal foundation for both reserve arrangements and digital-asset regulation.
