The executive order stipulates that the government will retain confiscated bitcoins. Absence of an immediate accumulation strategy: the details.
On March 6, United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, mandating that the federal government preserve confiscated bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies as a long-term store of value.
According to the order, the Treasury Department will oversee the management of both reserves, but the government will not actively acquire additional digital assets beyond those seized.
The document states that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick must develop “budget-neutral strategies” to expand the country’s bitcoin reserves without further burdening taxpayers.
Details of the executive order
The order establishes that bitcoins seized through criminal asset forfeiture and civil proceedings will be deposited in the reserve, ensuring there are no additional costs for taxpayers. Meanwhile, the Digital Asset Stockpile, a separate fund, will maintain cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin also obtained through confiscation.
The document also requires a complete audit of the government’s digital assets, with estimates suggesting that the United States owns approximately 198,000 BTC. The executive order prevents the government from selling any bitcoins in the reserve.
According to Crypto Czar David Sacks, over the last decade, the United States government has generated $366 million in proceeds from its bitcoin sales. Had the US kept those bitcoins, they would be worth over $17 billion today.
