National Bitcoin Reserves: Which Countries Have Them and Why in 2026

What just a few years ago was considered a radical theoretical proposal has, in 2026, consolidated as a tool for public and corporate wealth management. Faced with global inflation, geopolitics, and the search for monetary diversification, several countries have begun to accumulate Bitcoin as a reserve asset.

This article examines which countries are leading this adoption, what volume of BTC they custody, and what the strategic reasons are behind their decisions.

What Is a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

A strategic Bitcoin reserve is a sovereign provision or accumulation of BTC deliberately held by a State as part of its long-term monetary or asset policy.

Its logic is identical to that of traditional reserves: just as governments accumulate oil to respond to energy crises, or hold gold and foreign bonds to support their financial stability, the strategic reserve applies this principle to Bitcoin. With a fixed and unalterable supply of 21 million units, the asset acts as “digital gold“ to diversify national treasuries against inflation and fiat devaluation.

In the sovereign sphere, there are two main ways in which a government manages these holdings:

• Active reserves (purchased or mined):Deliberate acquisition through periodic purchases with treasury funds or through public mining. They represent a planned and audited public policy.
• Passive reserves (seized):Funds accumulated through judicial confiscations derived from illicit activities or financial crimes.

United States: The 2025 Strategic Reserve

The United States has carried out the most significant sovereign movement to date in the crypto market. Already the world’s largest government holder, with an inventory exceeding 328,000 BTC, the country went from treating Bitcoin as a disposable asset to consolidating it as a key piece of its national treasury.

Historically, the Department of Justice auctioned off cryptocurrencies seized in operations against financial crime, liquidating them on the open market. This paradigm changed drastically on March 6, 2025, when President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that immediately froze liquidations and ordered the creation of two custody structures under the Department of the Treasury:

1. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR):Intended exclusively to house BTC as a long-term store of value with no intention of selling.
2. S. Digital Asset Stockpile:Designed to centrally and separately manage altcoins and other seized digital assets.

From Executive Decree to Definitive Legal Framework

The concept of sovereign backing in Bitcoin gained momentum thanks to the push of Senator Cynthia Lummis, who promoted the vision of accumulating up to one million BTC using budget-neutral avenues.

To ensure that this strategy transcends administrations and does not depend solely on a decree, the U.S. Congress advanced with the American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA) . This legislative initiative seeks to protect reserve funds for at least 20 years, formally transfer all assets seized by federal agencies to secure Treasury custody, and establish neutral mechanisms to continue accumulating Bitcoin without generating additional cost for taxpayers.

Origin of Funds: From Judicial Seizures to Active Purchases

To understand the magnitude of the United States’ reserve, it is crucial to answer a fundamental question: where does that Bitcoin come from?

Historically, the U.S. government did not build its inventory through open market purchases, but through law enforcement. Over the past decade, federal cybersecurity and justice agencies seized massive amounts of BTC linked to criminal networks and cyberattacks:

• The Silk Road case:Tens of thousands of Bitcoin seized from the famous digital black market and actors linked to it, such as James Zhong.
• The Bitfinex hack:The recovery of more than 94,000 BTC stolen in the exchange’s 2016 breach.

The Political Debate: Seizures or Market Purchases?

A strategic reserve is not sustained solely by seized funds. The current legislative discussion is divided into two strategic pillars:

1. Sovereign retention (at no cost to the taxpayer):The executive order freezes the sale of seized funds to permanently convert them into the initial capital of the national reserve.
2. Active and measured purchases:The framework promoted by the ARMA law and the legislative sector proposes reallocating Treasury balance sheet assets or using fiscally neutral mechanisms to acquire up to 1 million BTC over a five-year period.

In this way, the United States has gone from being an involuntary seller of seized Bitcoin to becoming the most closely monitored sovereign accumulation model by the global market.

El Salvador: The Pioneer Since 2021

El Salvador was the first state in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender and to build an active sovereign reserve through systematic market purchases.

• Timeline and 2021 milestone:In September 2021, under the mandate of President Nayib Bukele, the Bitcoin Law came into effect, marking a historic precedent by granting it legal tender status alongside the U.S. dollar to promote financial inclusion and attract capital.
• Accumulation strategy:After a period of discretionary purchases, the Executive formalized at the end of 2022 the policy of acquiring 1 BTC daily for the national treasury, executed uninterruptedly.
• Holdings figures:According to official data from the National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC), the country has accumulated more than 7,768 BTC in its sovereign strategic reserve.
• Evolution of the legal framework:El Salvador consolidated its legal infrastructure with the Digital Asset Issuance Law, creating the National Digital Assets Commission (CNAD) and the ONBTC. This framework regulates the issuance of financial instruments backed by BTC and formalizes the operational management of the state crypto treasury.

Crypto Sovereignty: Other State Models

The map of sovereign Bitcoin holdings goes far beyond the major powers and includes countries with diverse financial strategies, from state mining to legislative debate to create new reserves.

Bhutan and State Mining

Unlike states that buy on the open market, Bhutan has accumulated thousands of Bitcoin directly from the energy source. The Himalayan kingdom uses the surplus from its hydroelectric plants to power state-run mining centers managed by its sovereign investment arm, Druk Holding & Investments.

This strategy has allowed it to convert surplus renewable resources into a high-margin international reserve asset. Additionally, the country manages these reserves dynamically, selling small fractions according to its liquidity and development needs.

China and Historical Seizures

China holds one of the largest state reserves of Bitcoin without having made market purchases or declared an official strategy. Its inventory comes largely from large-scale judicial confiscations, most notably the historic seizure of the PlusToken pyramid scam in 2019.

Although the country maintains local prohibitions on cryptoasset trading, its immense idle holding is closely monitored by global analysts, as any movement in its wallets can influence the market.

Discreet Movements of Other States

• Brazil:Advancing in the debate on the RESBit bill (PL 4501/2024), a proposal to authorize the government to gradually acquire up to 1 million BTC for its sovereign reserves.
• Argentina:Exploring regulatory frameworks and monetary flexibility proposals to allow the central bank to consider the inclusion of digital assets within the diversification of its reserves.
• Poland:Political leaders and legislative candidates promote projects to integrate Bitcoin into the treasury and make the country a regional hub for the industry.
• Russia:After formalizing the legal framework for cryptocurrency mining, the political debate is oriented toward the use of digital assets in foreign trade and the accumulation of strategic reserves.

The European Position on Crypto Reserves

Unlike the momentum observed in the Americas, the institutions of the European Union maintain a deeply conservative stance regarding the integration of Bitcoin into sovereign balance sheets.

The European Central Bank’s (ECB) Resistance

The European Central Bank (ECB) , headed by Christine Lagarde, has categorically ruled out the inclusion of Bitcoin in its official reserves. The institution bases its refusal on three traditional financial pillars:

• Lack of stability and high volatility:The ECB requires assets with clear valuation methods and low fluctuation to support its monetary policy.
• Liquidity and security criteria:In the eyes of the European regulator, the cryptoasset market lacks the historical maturity and backing guarantees offered by gold or sovereign bonds.
• Protection of monetary sovereignty:The Eurozone’s priority is focused on the development of the Digital Euro and creating its own blockchain infrastructure to tokenize banking system assets.

The European Commission’s Perspective and the Regulatory Framework

The European Commission has opted to prioritize legal certainty over asset accumulation. The EU seeks to prevent legislative fragmentation and allow private financial entities to innovate in a controlled manner, closing the door to state purchases of Bitcoin.

Dissenting Views and Debates in Member States

Despite the hard line imposed from Frankfurt and Brussels, the consensus within the European bloc is beginning to show cracks:

• Czech Republic:The governor of the Czech National Bank, Aleš Michl, internally raised the possibility of allocating up to 5% of its sovereign reserves to Bitcoin to diversify the central bank’s balance sheet.
• Switzerland (outside the EU):Faces legislative proposals and popular initiatives to force the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to include BTC on its balance sheet, although monetary authorities have shown resistance similar to that of the ECB.
• Poland:Leaders and emerging political sectors openly advocate for the creation of a sovereign reserve framework to compete with the American model.

Economic Debate: Arguments For and Against

The debate on the inclusion of Bitcoin in public and corporate treasuries pits traditional monetary theory against the new dynamics of digital scarcity. While advocates highlight its asset preservation capacity, detractors point to its incompatibilities with classical central banking.

Arguments in Favor of Sovereign Adoption:

• Hedge against inflation and programmed scarcity:Bitcoin has an unalterable limit of 21 million units. This mathematical scarcity makes it a refuge against the long-term loss of purchasing power.
• Diversification and reduction of geopolitical risk:As a neutral asset with no central issuer or counterparty risk, it allows states to reduce their dependence on traditional foreign currencies and third-country sovereign debt.
• Decentralized store of value:Its apolitical, portable, and censorship-resistant infrastructure offers an economic safety net for nations exposed to sanctions, devaluations, or monetary instability.
• Optimization of corporate and institutional treasuries:Global companies like Strategy or Tesla have demonstrated that holding BTC on the balance sheet can act as a superior mechanism to cash for preserving working capital over time.

Arguments Against and Macroeconomic Risks:

• High short- and medium-term volatility:The asset’s pronounced price fluctuations make it difficult to use as predictable collateral or as immediate liquidity reserves in the face of financial emergencies.
• Incompatibility with the central banking mandate:Institutions like the ECB argue that Bitcoin’s unpredictability directly clashes with the primary objective of monetary authorities: ensuring price stability and exchange control.
• Liquidity risks under stress scenarios:During times of global economic contraction, Bitcoin’s occasional correlation with risk assets limits its ability to operate as a lender of last resort.

What This Would Imply for Bitcoin’s Price

The adoption of strategic reserves by governments and companies impacts supply and demand, although there are opposing positions on the real magnitude of this effect.

• Effect on supply:States and corporations buy Bitcoin with a long-term horizon. By removing these coins from exchanges, the circulating supply available to the public decreases. Faced with constant or growing demand, this programmed scarcity generates strong upward pressure on the price.
• Signal of confidence and legitimization:When a country or large company integrates Bitcoin into its treasury, it sends a signal of institutional validation. This transforms the asset’s narrative and accelerates adoption by other market players.
• Counterarguments and risks:Various analysts warn that the market tends to anticipate official announcements, so the real impact on the price may be less than expected. Additionally, the massive concentration of BTC in a few governments or companies creates risks of extreme volatility if an administration decides to sell its funds all at once.

Frequently Asked Questions About National Bitcoin Reserves

• How much Bitcoin does the United States have?Around 328,000 BTC (according to on-chain data and estimates).
• Which country was the first to declare Bitcoin legal tender?El Salvador, in September 2021.
• Can a European country create its own Bitcoin reserve?Yes, legally, but it faces strong institutional resistance.
• Do national reserves raise the price of BTC?They tend to boost it. They remove supply from the market in the long term and send a powerful signal of institutional legitimization that attracts greater demand.
• What happens if a government decides to sell its reserve?It generates strong downward pressure and temporary volatility.

The incorporation of Bitcoin into the strategic reserves of governments and corporations marks a fundamental transition in the global financial system: what was once a marginal debate is today a matter of public policy and sovereign asset management.

While Bitcoin’s programmed scarcity and apolitical nature attract states seeking protection against fiat devaluation, its volatility and historical immaturity impose caution on institutions like the European Central Bank. Beyond positions for or against, the question is no longer whether digital assets are viable, but how nations will respond to the evolution of the monetary landscape, synthesized in Nayib Bukele’s vision that “Bitcoin is not a market experiment, but a tool for sovereignty and the financial future of nations.”