Trump Orders Crypto Reserve, But Won’t Immediately Buy New Funds
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 6 to establish a strategic cryptocurrency reserve and stockpile.
The order first creates a strategic reserve composed of Bitcoin (BTC) previously seized by the U.S. government and currently held by the Treasury. The government has committed to not selling Bitcoin stored in the reserve.
It secondarily creates a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile made up of assets other than the BTC seized by the government and held by the Treasury. Unlike with the main strategic reserve, the Treasury Secretary may permit assets in the secondary stockpile to be sold.
According to a Truth Social post by Trump, the strategy could involve holding Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA), though these cryptocurrencies are not mentioned in the government fact sheet.
No Immediate Crypto Purchases
Trump’s order doesn’t describe immediate plans to purchase new cryptocurrency, disappointing critics who anticipated new government investments.
Andrew O’Neill of S&P Global Ratings called the order “mainly symbolic” as it primarily recognizes Bitcoin as a legitimate U.S. government reserve asset.
Meanwhile, Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards called the order “underwhelming and disappointing” due to the absence of an active buying policy.
The strategy does not rule out new crypto investments entirely. Notably, it permits the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to develop budget-neutral Bitcoin acquisition strategies so long as they do not impose incremental costs on taxpayers.
However, the executive order fully rules out government purchases of crypto assets for the secondary stockpile.
Order Aims to Maximize Value
The reserve strategy aims to maximize the value of government crypto holdings. The White House called federal agencies‘ past handling of seized crypto “disjointed,” describing premature sales at low values and assets scattered across agencies.
It said that the new, long-term holding strategy will promote “national prosperity rather than letting [the assets] languish in limbo.”
David Sacks, the Trump administration’s crypto czar, said that the government’s early sale of Bitcoin has cost taxpayers about $17 billion in value. By contrast, the new strategy, which preserves existing holdings, “won’t cost taxpayers a dime.”
Sacks noted that the U.S. government is estimated to hold 200,000 BTC but that the amount is not audited. The order will involve accounting for all holdings.
Alongside the announcement, the White House hosted a summit with crypto leaders. Attendees discussed how Trump’s broader crypto policies may open up the crypto sector in contrast to more restrictive policies under the Biden administration.
