Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, previewed a “big announcement” coming in the next few weeks regarding Trump’s strategic bitcoin reserve during remarks at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas on Monday. Speaking on a panel, Witt stated that he and others have been working on implementing the strategic bitcoin reserve that President Trump established through executive order last year.
Witt explained the work undertaken to date: “The president signed the strategic bitcoin reserve executive order last year, and we’ve gone to work in figuring out exactly the machinations necessary and legal interpretations that we need to get that right and solidify that and protect the digital assets, specifically bitcoin that we have on the government balance sheet.”
In the first few months of the new presidential administration, President Trump signed an executive order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve, funded mainly through bitcoin already owned by the government through criminal or civil forfeitures, and a separate digital asset stockpile.
Executive orders do not hold the same staying power as legislation, and lawmakers have been working to pass a bill to codify Trump’s actions. Last year, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, reintroduced the “Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act,” or BITCOIN Act.
The bill builds upon the executive order while also including language for acquiring 1 million bitcoin over five years using “budget-neutral strategies.” On Monday, Begich announced that the bill was being renamed as the American Reserves Modernization Act (ARMA).
Witt signaled progress on multiple fronts: “So in the next few weeks, we’ll be making a big announcement. I think we have a bit of a breakthrough there, and obviously that needs to be followed up with legislation.”
Witt added: “In the meantime, we do believe we’re going to be able to take a big step forward from the executive branch side in the next few weeks.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the announcement, according to The Block.