Witt Says Trump Is Interested in U.S. Bitcoin Purchases

By Daniel Okafor

Patrick Witt, the former executive director of the White House crypto council, said in an interview posted Nov. 10 that President Donald Trump is interested in U.S. government purchases of Bitcoin (BTC).

The interview was recorded before the midterm elections. Witt said officials have held extensive internal discussions about possible buying methods. He described Trump's interest as a potential shift in federal policy, but said the administration still faces two practical gates: authority for direct transactions and legal work on alternative Treasury routes.

What would direct Bitcoin purchases require?

Witt said: “Direct purchases on public markets raise legal questions.” He said Congress would need to authorize the purchases to ensure they were lawful.

That makes Congress a necessary participant if the government buys Bitcoin in public markets. On Witt's account, an internal policy discussion cannot substitute for the authorization he said the transactions would require. The interview offered no purchase amount, execution timetable or asset target.

The absence of those figures leaves the proposal at the method-and-authority stage. The interview does not describe a completed transaction or a public-market buying schedule.

Which Treasury routes are under review?

The U.S. Treasury Department has discussed four possible approaches:

• Revaluing government gold holdings.
• Drawing on the Exchange Stabilization Fund.
• Converting other balance-sheet assets into Bitcoin.
• Accepting BTC for taxes and fees.

Witt said: “Each route needs further legal analysis.” He also said every route would depend on whether the Treasury secretary is willing to proceed.

These options touch different parts of federal finances. A gold revaluation would concern asset valuation; an Exchange Stabilization Fund draw would change the source of funds; converting other assets would alter the composition of holdings; and accepting BTC would change how taxpayers and fee payers settle obligations.

The breadth of the menu does not make any route operative. Witt's account makes legal analysis and the Treasury secretary's decision two conditions for using them. The administration therefore has options to evaluate, not a funding method cleared for execution.

Can Congress establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve?

The administration is pushing to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in law, Witt said. He also said a divided Congress could make a standalone bill difficult to pass.

A reserve statute would put the federal Bitcoin policy into law rather than leave it to the separate options Treasury has considered. The acquisition route and funding method would still have to fit within whatever legislative framework Congress approves.

The split Congress creates a sequencing problem. If a standalone reserve bill stalls, the administration would still need to satisfy the legal and authorization requirements Witt identified before using an alternative method. Passage of a bill would establish the statutory framework; failure to pass one would leave the alternatives without that broader legal structure while their own reviews continued.

What is the review of government Bitcoin?

Agencies are conducting a second review of government-held Bitcoin to improve the accuracy of the federal inventory. Whether they will disclose a total remains undecided, Witt said.

The second review is separate from the purchase debate in his account. It focuses on what the government already holds and the reliability of that accounting; it does not set an acquisition amount, authorize a transaction or resolve the legal questions attached to public-market purchases.

Witt gave no reporting deadline or revised government holding figure. A public total would give Congress, agencies and the public a clearer measure of federal exposure, but the interview did not establish when such disclosure might occur.

What is the next decision point?

No route has cleared all the conditions Witt described. Direct buying still requires congressional authorization, a reserve bill faces a divided Congress, and each Treasury method needs further legal analysis and the Treasury secretary's willingness to proceed.

The next test is whether Congress provides authorization or advances a reserve bill, or whether the Treasury secretary chooses one of the four routes for further legal work. A move that clears those gates would create an operating federal acquisition program and add an institutional buyer to the Bitcoin market; until then, the administration's proposal remains a policy option without a legal foundation.