Bitcoin's U.S. reserve still a work-in-progress as federal agencies hash it out

The White House's chief crypto adviser, Patrick Witt, and his predecessor in that role had both said that they'll need Congress to fully back up the formation and activation of the crypto funds. Presidential orders don't carry the weight of law, and no legislation has yet advanced, though such efforts have simmered among lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives, And if Republicans lose the majority in the House or both chambers in this year's midterm elections, it's unlikely such a bill will formalize Trump's concept anytime soon.

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Even if the administration works out the structure for the funds, it's unclear whether they'll be able to pull the lever to officially put its bitcoin holding — estimated at more than 300,000, or about $21 billion — into that virtual vault.

The government's bitcoin holdings would be a long-term investment. Trump and his administration has called it a strategic reserve, though it doesn't fit the usual definition of that phrase, because it's meant to be held for a long period and not doled out during market emergencies.

When Trump issued the order, he asked his administration to come up with ways to acquire more bitcoin without using taxpayer money. Several ideas have since been floated, though if they'd started buying the asset when Trump called for it, they'd have bought at $93,000, and BTC has dropped by about a third since then to today's price just above $64,000.