According to a ChainCatcher report published on November 11, 2026, and citing Bitcoin.com News, former White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said President Trump still intends to buy Bitcoin for the U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve, while open-market purchases face serious legal problems.
Podcast remarks
Speaking on the What Bitcoin Did podcast, Witt said the president is interested and that related discussions have been extensive.
March 2025 executive order
An executive order in March 2025 established the reserve by pooling Bitcoin the government had already confiscated and directed the Treasury and Commerce departments to find “budget-neutral” acquisition strategies. As of the report, no such strategy had been made public and no open-market purchases had been announced.
Spending authority and the defense bill
Witt said direct open-market purchases have “questionable legality” because Congress controls federal spending. He said concern over purchases prompted Congress to add provisions to the National Defense Authorization Act stating that this must not be done, and that he is working to secure permission and authorization.
Limits on permanence
Witt said making the reserve permanent is more difficult. Passing an independent bill through a divided Congress would be extremely hard, and without legislation the reserve would depend on the executive order, which a future president could revoke. These are Witt’s assessments of the legal and legislative constraints, not a determination that purchases will or will not occur.
Original report (ChainCatcher, November 11, 2026)
