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US creates a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, but holding totals remain disputed

The executive order directs agencies to inventory digital assets within 30 days and sets a 60-day Treasury review, while outside estimates of US-controlled BTC diverge by roughly 130,263 BTC.

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 6, 2025 establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, but the amount the US actually controls is unclear because the order leaves key accounting and disclosure questions unresolved, according to CryptoSlate. The directive requires every federal agency to provide Treasury, within 30 days, a full accounting of its digital assets, including the custodial accounts that hold them, and to assess which eligible Bitcoin could legally be transferred into the reserve. Treasury then has 60 days to decide where the reserve accounts should be managed and whether Congress needs to authorize any part of the operation. While the order generally states that Bitcoin deposited into the reserve was not intended to be sold, it preserves exceptions for items such as court rulings, victim restitution, law enforcement use, and other statutory obligations. The order also focuses on categorizing holdings based on legal status, identifying control, and determining what Bitcoin belongs in the reserve. Initial claims about federal ownership have varied. White House crypto adviser David Sacks said the government owned about 200,000 BTC, while commonly cited tracker data showed 198,109 BTC. By July 2026, Arkham estimated about 324,000 BTC and Bitcoin Treasuries listed 328,372 BTC, which at a reference price of $62,761 translates to roughly $12.4 billion versus about $20.6 billion, a gap of 130,263 BTC, or about $8.2 billion. CryptoSlate reports that the discrepancy reflects outsiders counting different categories of property while the government has not published a reconciliation showing the reserve holdings.

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