White House Adviser Hints at Legal Breakthrough for Bitcoin

Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, told a panel at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas on Monday that officials have been working through legal interpretations to protect Bitcoin placed on the government balance sheet and expect a breakthrough announcement within weeks.

Witt said the administration has developed operational and legal measures it could use before Congress passes related legislation and described a coming notice as a big announcement that could precede congressional action.

The reserve was created more than a year ago by an executive order. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has publicly said the Treasury will not purchase additional Bitcoin and has noted that actions taken by one administration can be reversed by a future administration.

Representative Nick Begich, Republican of Alaska, said he will reintroduce a House companion to Senator Cynthia Lummis’ BITCOIN Act in the coming weeks under the name American Reserves Modernization Act, following consultations with the House Financial Services Committee.

A White House crypto policy report published last July made no mention of an acquisition plan. Treasury officials have indicated that any growth of the reserve would come from assets obtained through law enforcement seizures rather than open-market purchases.

Matthew Pinnock, chief operating officer at Altura DeFi, told attendees the executive branch does not have authority to buy Bitcoin on the open market without a congressional appropriation and that executive orders cannot create binding budget authority.

Legal and budget rules require congressional appropriation for new market purchases, so observers expect the administration’s announcement to outline legal or administrative steps for handling seized Bitcoin rather than signal immediate open-market buying. The coming weeks will show whether the administration changes how it manages seized assets or whether further expansion of the reserve will await congressional action.