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White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt told the Bitcoin 2026 audience in Las Vegas that the Trump administration plans to unveil a major update on the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve within the next few weeks.
Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, said his team has reached a breakthrough on the legal framework underpinning the reserve and intends to act before fresh legislation lands on Capitol Hill.
The federal government currently holds roughly 328,372 BTC, worth around $25 billion at current prices, making the United States the largest known sovereign holder of Bitcoin (BTC). That position represents close to 1.56% of Bitcoin's circulating supply.
These coins came almost entirely from criminal forfeitures and law enforcement seizures rather than open market purchases. Trump's March 2025 executive order directed federal agencies to consolidate that bitcoin into the reserve and barred future sales by the Treasury.
Witt acknowledged that the order alone is insufficient. Without congressional action, the no-sale policy remains a commitment from the current administration rather than a permanent structural guarantee for taxpayers.
For more than a year, departments have catalogued and pooled bitcoin from separate forfeiture sources into a single custody structure. Witt indicated that this internal accounting work is what enabled the upcoming reveal.
The adviser, who took over after Bo Hines departed the Crypto Council, declined to detail specifics. He framed the upcoming move as a substantive step rather than a procedural update.
Lawmakers are expected to use the late 2026 National Defense Authorization Act markup as the next realistic vehicle for codification.
If the reserve language clears that process, the holdings would become a permanent national asset backed by statute, an outcome some analysts have tied to potential price upside for BTC.
For now, traders are watching whether Witt's reveal signals new acquisition strategies, custody arrangements, or accounting clarity. His confidence suggests the administration is preparing to move beyond legal interpretation and into measurable action.
The teased breakthrough will face scrutiny from crypto czar David Sacks and lawmakers tracking Senate progress on reserve infrastructure. The next few weeks will reveal whether the executive branch can convert custody mechanics into a durable Bitcoin policy.
