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US Treasury plans Bitcoin custody framework as cold wallet security draws scrutiny
The US Treasury is building a custody framework for the Bitcoin the federal government holds. The plan would combine self-custody with third-party custodians, rather than betting everything on one approach.
That sounds like back-office plumbing. It is. But when the asset in question is somewhere between approximately 198,000 $BTC and more than 328,000 $BTC , the plumbing matters a great deal.
What the Treasury is building
The custody effort is tied to a broader push to make federal agencies’ reporting on their Bitcoin holdings more accurate. In other words, Washington wants to know exactly what it owns and exactly where it sits.
The framework is designed to support two models at once. Self-custody means the government holds the private keys itself. Third-party custody means a specialized outside firm safeguards those keys on the government’s behalf.
The work also connects to a follow-up review of agency holdings. Under the original executive order, agencies had 30 days to review and report what Bitcoin they controlled. The newer review is aimed at improving the accuracy of those figures.
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve backdrop
All of this traces back to March 6, 2025. That day, an executive order, EO 14233, created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The order allows the Treasury to manage forfeited Bitcoin and bars routine sales of those holdings. Sales are permitted only in limited circumstances.
The reserve pulls together coins acquired mostly through civil and criminal asset forfeitures. These are assets the government picked up through law enforcement actions, not through purchases on the open market.
The size of the stash is where things get fuzzy. Estimates run from approximately 198,000 $BTC to over 328,000 $BTC . The gap largely comes down to whether coins tied up in pending litigation are counted.
#Write2Earn #BTC $BTC
US Treasury plans Bitcoin custody framework as cold wallet security draws scrutiny
The US Treasury is building a custody framework for the Bitcoin the federal government holds. The plan would combine self-custody with third-party custodians, rather than betting everything on one approach.
That sounds like back-office plumbing. It is. But when the asset in question is somewhere between approximately 198,000 $BTC and more than 328,000 $BTC , the plumbing matters a great deal.
What the Treasury is building
The custody effort is tied to a broader push to make federal agencies’ reporting on their Bitcoin holdings more accurate. In other words, Washington wants to know exactly what it owns and exactly where it sits.
The framework is designed to support two models at once. Self-custody means the government holds the private keys itself. Third-party custody means a specialized outside firm safeguards those keys on the government’s behalf.
The work also connects to a follow-up review of agency holdings. Under the original executive order, agencies had 30 days to review and report what Bitcoin they controlled. The newer review is aimed at improving the accuracy of those figures.
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve backdrop
All of this traces back to March 6, 2025. That day, an executive order, EO 14233, created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The order allows the Treasury to manage forfeited Bitcoin and bars routine sales of those holdings. Sales are permitted only in limited circumstances.
The reserve pulls together coins acquired mostly through civil and criminal asset forfeitures. These are assets the government picked up through law enforcement actions, not through purchases on the open market.
The size of the stash is where things get fuzzy. Estimates run from approximately 198,000 $BTC to over 328,000 $BTC . The gap largely comes down to whether coins tied up in pending litigation are counted.
#Write2Earn #BTC $BTC
