A White House adviser says an update on the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is coming soon, with the federal government still working to inventory and secure its holdings.
Reserve update coming soon
Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, told CoinDesk’s Consensus Miami conference on Wednesday that an announcement is coming “in the next few weeks.”
The effort to inventory, centralize, and secure U.S.-held bitcoin and other digital assets has been running in the background for months.
Following President Trump’s executive order calling for bitcoin to be set aside in long-term holdings, the White House halted what Witt described as “fire sale” liquidations under the previous administration and began auditing what crypto each agency was holding.
Witt noted:
“We’ve heard stories and confirmed some of them of cold wallets that were being stored in drawers of desks in various agencies.”
U.S. Marshals hack cited as wake-up call
Witt pointed to a recent exploit involving assets held by the U.S. Marshals Service as a key motivator for centralization.
Bloomberg reported in January that the Marshals Service was investigating a possible hack of government digital-asset accounts, after on-chain investigator ZachXBT claimed a hacker stole more than $60 million in late 2025, including funds from government seizure wallets.
Witt said:
“It’s a case in point for why it was so necessary that the president established the SBR, and that he instructed the agencies to take these assets very seriously and properly safeguard them.”
Size and structure still undisclosed
Witt declined to reveal how much bitcoin or other crypto the U.S. government currently holds, saying the priority is to “get our own house in order” before disclosing details.
He also clarified that the reserve won’t automatically absorb every newly seized asset, as crypto tied to active legal proceedings remains in pending status until forfeiture is finalized.
Legislation still needed
Witt said the reserve ultimately needs to be codified through Congress, citing Senator Cynthia Lummis’s BITCOIN Act in the Senate and Rep. Nick Begich’s American Reserves Modernization Act in the House.
When Congress will find the bandwidth to push through a reserve bill remains unclear.
