• Then-candidate Donald Trump promised to stop selling bitcoins seized in July.

• Experts tell CoinDesk that the new president may need help from Congress to establish a proper strategic reserve.

• Even though Republicans will soon have a majority in Congress, building a bitcoin reserve will not be at the top of their list of priorities.

Will the US government actually establish a bitcoin {{BTC}} reserve? It seems to depend on what definition of “reserve” you use.

Would the government simply stop selling bitcoin in its possession, as former president and now president-elect Donald Trump promised in his speech in Nashville this summer? Or would he actively buy bitcoin, in accordance with the wishes of Senator Cynthia Lummis and Trump ally Robert F. Kennedy?

The government currently holds 208,109 bitcoins – worth over $19 billion – according to Arkham Intelligence. This stock was acquired over time through confiscations linked to criminal activity. Historically, the government auctioned off seized bitcoins, but Trump announced in July that under his administration the government would keep 100% of all bitcoins it currently holds or acquires in the future.

This may seem like a simple policy, but there is no established method for implementing it, and the procedure would likely involve the coordination of various government agencies such as the Department of Justice, the U.S. Marshals Services, and the U.S. Treasury.

“We don’t have anything written down, do we?” We’re sort of settling for rather generic talk,” Perianne Boring, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency advocacy group The Digital Chamber, told CoinDesk. “Can you just move money between federal agencies like that?” I don’t know.”

“If you move (bitcoin) from the Department of Justice to the Treasury, and it looks like a strategic Bitcoin storage fund, that would probably require an act of Congress,” Boring added. “But again, I’m not sure what (Trump) can do with his executive powers.”

Moish Peltz, a partner at Falcon, Rappaport and Berkman, told CoinDesk that the rules regarding bitcoin seizure could change department by department and vary depending on how the bitcoin was seized in the first place. “Some of the seized bitcoin might require an act of Congress, but not necessarily,” he said.

Moreover, the process could be gradual. “The current (government) experience with seizing and custody of large quantities of Bitcoin demonstrates competence and makes it easy to imagine, from a technical perspective, a relatively low level of difficulty in establishing “a strategic reserve,” Peltz said. “Over time, this could evolve into a more meaningful position as regulatory clarity improves, legislation is passed (and implemented) and the government develops a more comprehensive strategy on digital assets.”

The story continues