The Trump administration’s plan for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve has hit an internal roadblock, as two federal departments angle to run it amid unresolved questions about who has the legal authority to do so, Bloomberg reported Monday.

President Donald Trump ordered the reserve created in a March 2025 executive order that envisioned housing it inside the Treasury Department, capitalized by bitcoin from criminal and civil asset forfeitures across federal agencies, along with possible future purchases. That order also directed the Treasury to review legal and investment questions before the reserve could become operational.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

However, there is concern over whether the Treasury has clear legal authority to manage the asset, Bloomberg reported. The Commerce Department has emerged as a possible alternative home, and the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is now working with both agencies to identify a legally sound structure, according to the report.

Congress has floated legislation such as the BITCOIN Act and the ARMA Act to address legal uncertainties, but both bills have yet to gain traction.

Federal agencies have so far declined to disclose how much bitcoin the government actually holds.

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