Treasury converts DOJ forfeiture assets into Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

On Mar. 6, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14233 establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve funded by bitcoin and other digital assets seized under civil and criminal forfeiture, diverting those proceeds away from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund under 31 U.S.C. 9705 (Federal Register EO text; GovInfo 31 U.S.C. 9705).

Section 3(a) of EO 14233 requires the Treasury Department to capitalize the reserve with all bitcoin already forfeited to Treasury and directs every federal agency to report its seized digital-asset holdings within 30 days of Mar. 6, 2025 (EO text Sec. 3(a); EO text Sec. 3).

Section 3(b) of EO 14233 channels all non-BTC tokens forfeited to the United States into a separate U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, while Section 3(e) gives Treasury 60 days from Mar. 6, 2025 to draft management guidelines for both pools (EO text Sec. 3(b); EO text Sec. 3(e)).

Reuters and AP estimate the reserve will include approximately 200 000 BTC—valued at about $18 billion using a $90 000-per-bitcoin price—making it the first time the U.S. treats bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset (Reuters crypto reserve story; AP crypto order story).