US Plans Audit of Bitcoin Holdings Following Reserve Establishment

President Trump has initiated an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate stockpile of other digital assets, which will primarily consist of Bitcoin seized during legal proceedings. The government is expected to conduct a full audit of its cryptocurrency holdings, which are estimated at around 200,000 BTC, to provide clarity on its assets for the first time. White House crypto czar David Sacks indicated that the U.S. has seized approximately 400,000 Bitcoins over the last decade, but many of those have been sold, leaving the current holdings valued at around $17.5 billion. The reserve will be funded exclusively through forfeited assets, with no additional costs to taxpayers, while the stockpile of other digital assets will not be actively expanded. The market reacted positively to the announcement, with significant price increases for Bitcoin and Ethereum following the news of the audit. This move signals a potential shift towards greater transparency in government digital asset management.