President Donald Trump is considering an executive order to create a U.S. Bitcoin reserve, potentially using Bitcoin seized from criminal cases,
according
to Bloomberg.
The move could be announced at Friday’s White House Crypto Summit, where industry leaders like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor
will be in attendance.
Sources told Bloomberg that the government may stop selling confiscated Bitcoin and instead hold it as part of a strategic reserve. Another option being discussed is the government buying more Bitcoin to strengthen the country’s financial position. However, plans could change, as the proposal is still under discussion.
Trump on Sunday hinted at a
"crypto strategic reserve",
sparking speculation about whether Solana (SOL), XRP, and Cardano (ADA) could be included. But his administration later walked back on those claims, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
clarifying
that Bitcoin would be the primary focus.
The U.S. government first seized Bitcoin in 2013, when the FBI confiscated 11 BTC from an individual attempting to buy illegal drugs. This marked the first recorded instance of a U.S. agency taking control of the asset.
Since then, various law enforcement agencies have confiscated around 195,000 BTC, primarily from criminal investigations. Over the past 12 years, the government sold Bitcoin 11 times, with 173,000 BTC liquidated between 2013 and 2015 in a series of auctions, per data from Arkham Intelligence.