White House Director: “Obscure” Laws Stall Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Patrick Witt confirms “obscure legal provisions” are blocking agencies from executing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve mandate, leaving $31B in seized BTC in operational limbo.
The Legal Quagmire Behind the Reserve
The United States’ plan to stockpile Bitcoin is hitting a bureaucratic wall. Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the White House Crypto Council, admitted this week that “obscure legal provisions” are delaying the full implementation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Despite Executive Order 14233 being signed in March 2025, federal agencies remain deadlocked over jurisdictional authority.
Speaking on the Crypto In America podcast, Witt confirmed the administration treats the reserve as a “priority,” but the execution is far from simple. The hurdle isn’t political will; it’s interagency red tape. Different departments, Treasury, Justice, and Commerce, are currently debating which statutes grant them custody over the assets. “It seems straightforward, but then you get into some… obscure legal provisions and why this agency can’t do it, but actually this agency could,” Witt stated.
The 328,000 BTC Question
The stakes are tangible. The U.S. government currently holds approximately 328,000 BTC (worth ~$31.2 billion at current prices), amassed primarily through asset seizures. EO 14233 explicitly forbids the sale of these assets, reversing the previous standard operating procedure of auctioning forfeited crypto. However, without a finalized legal framework for custody, these coins sit in a state of operational limbo.
Witt specifically addressed recent market anxiety regarding the Samourai Wallet forfeiture. On-chain data had flagged a $6.3 million transfer, sparking rumors of a liquidation. Witt issued a direct denial, clarifying the movement was an internal transfer permitted under the executive order, not a sale. The 57 BTC seized from the privacy mixer’s founders remain on the government balance sheet.
Market Reaction
Bitcoin (BTC) shrugged off the bureaucratic delay, holding steady at $95,320 (-0.06%). While the promise of a U.S. Strategic Reserve initially fueled bullish speculation, the market has priced in the reality that government accumulation will be slow and strictly limited to seized assets for now, rather than open-market purchases.
