Former White House Adviser: Trump Still Intends to Buy Bitcoin but Faces Legal Obstacles

According to Bitcoin.com News, former White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said U.S. President Trump still intends to buy Bitcoin for the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, but open-market purchases face serious legal issues. Witt said on the What Bitcoin Did podcast that the president is interested and there has been much discussion. The March 2025 executive order established the reserve, consolidated Bitcoin already confiscated by the government, and required the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department to find 'budget-neutral' acquisition strategies;

No such strategy has been made public, and no open-market purchases have been announced. Witt said that because Congress controls federal spending, direct open-market purchases are of questionable legality. He also said concerns about purchases 'prompted Congress to add a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) prohibiting such purchases.' He added that efforts are underway to secure permission and authorization. Witt noted that making the reserve permanent is more difficult, passing a standalone bill in a divided Congress would be extremely difficult, and without legislation the reserve would rely on an executive order that a future president could rescind.

Source: TechFlow