Former White House advisor: Trump is still interested in buying Bitcoin, but faces legal obstacles

According to Bitcoin.com News, former White House cryptocurrency advisor Patrick Witt stated that President Trump still intends to purchase Bitcoin for the United States' strategic Bitcoin reserve, but public market purchases face serious legal issues. Witt mentioned in the What Bitcoin Did podcast that the president is interested in this, and there have been many discussions related to it. An executive order from March 2025 established the reserve, gathering Bitcoin seized by the government, and instructed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to seek "budget-neutral" acquisition strategies, but no such strategies have been made public, nor has any public market purchase been announced.

Witt indicated that due to Congress controlling federal spending, the "legitimacy" of direct public market purchases is in doubt. He also noted that concerns over purchases prompted Congress to include provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act prohibiting such actions, and he is working to push for permission and authorization for it. Witt pointed out that making the reserve permanent is more difficult, as passing a standalone bill in a divided Congress would be extremely challenging, and without legislation, the reserve would rely on executive orders, which future presidents could revoke.