According to the source, the U.S. has reportedly come into possession of roughly $14 billion in BTC via recent seizures and forfeitures, raising questions about whether it will be held or sold into the market (source). Under current federal practice, forfeited crypto managed by the Department of Justice is typically liquidated and proceeds are deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund rather than held as a reserve, as outlined by the DOJ Asset Forfeiture Policy Manual and the governing statute for the fund, 28 U.S.C. § 524(c) (U.S. Department of Justice; 28 U.S.C. § 524(c)). The DOJ disclosed in a March 31, 2023 filing in United States v. Zhong that it sold 9,861 BTC on March 14, 2023 and planned to dispose of remaining Silk Road–related BTC in tranches, illustrating the default disposition approach for seized Bitcoin (U.S. Department of Justice court filing, United States v. Zhong, S.D.N.Y., March 31, 2023). Establishing a national Bitcoin strategic reserve would likely require new statutory authority comparable to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act that enables the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; no current federal statute establishes a BTC reserve framework (Energy Policy and Conservation Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6201 et seq.; U.S. Code). For traders, the base case is continued periodic government disposals via U.S. Marshals Service auction or sale processes, creating episodic supply overhang and event-driven volatility around wallet movements and sale notices (U.S. Marshals Service Asset Forfeiture Division; U.S. Department of Justice). Monitoring tagged U.S. government Bitcoin addresses and federal forfeiture dockets can provide early signals for timing and size of dispositions that may affect BTC spot liquidity and futures basis (public DOJ court dockets; Chainalysis public government wallet labels).