US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate Digital Asset Stockpile, firming up his plans to establish a US crypto reserve. The reserves will be capitalized respectively with Bitcoin and other digital assets seized in civil and criminal cases.
However, the US government will not acquire additional assets to build the stockpile, sending crypto prices down. BTC fell nearly 5% to $85k following the order, and was trading above $88k at publishing time.
“Just a few minutes ago, President Trump signed an Executive Order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks said in a March 7 post on X.
The Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce are authorized to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin if those impose no incremental costs on US taxpayers, according to the executive order.
Interestingly, seized crypto assets held by the US government include only BTC, ETH, and stablecoin Tether, according to Arkham Intelligence data. XRP, SOL, and ADA are not included.
Earlier in the week, Mr. Trump announced the names of five digital assets he plans to include in a new US strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies, moving a step forward in his goal to create a national stockpile of digital assets. The decision, announced on March 2, brought cheer to the broader crypto market and drove up the prices of the tokens mentioned.
In January 2025, the president had signed an executive order to create a national digital asset stockpile, but the names of the assets were not announced. The five tokens to be included in the reserve are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Ripple-linked XRP, and Cardano.
Trump’s latest move is in line with his aim of overhauling US crypto policy, following up on his election promise to create a friendly regulatory environment for crypto and establish the US as the global crypto leader. Industry leaders say this could lead to increased participation of the US government in the crypto economy.
The social media post made by the president read as follows: “A US crypto reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks by the Biden administration, which is why my executive order on digital assets directed the presidential working group to move forward on a crypto strategic reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account, referring to Ripple’s XRP, Solana and Cardano, without mentioning Bitcoin.
While the first post did not mention Bitcoin and Ethereum, a follow-up post by Trump clarified, “Obviously, Bitcoin and Ethereum, other valuable cryptocurrencies, will be the heart of the reserve. I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum.”
Creating a US crypto strategic reserve aligns with Trump’s earlier promise at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Tennessee that his administration would retain 100% of all Bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires.
Crypto prices fall after Bitcoin reserve announcement
Crypto prices fell after the announcement, likely a tad disappointed as the reserve will only comprise tokens already held by the US government and will not include any new purchases of Bitcoin or other tokens named by President Trump.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin briefly fell 5% to $85k following the order, later recovering to trade above $88K at publishing time. Other tokens in the digital asset reserve such as Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL) all fell between 4 to 8%.
White House Crypto Summit today
Donald Trump’s executive order to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve comes hours before the scheduled White House Crypto Summit. President Trump is expected to meet top crypto and Web3 industry leaders and investors to discuss the future of digital assets in the US.
The summit could likely shape the US administration’s stance on crypto regulations, institutional adoption, federal digital asset policies, and the structure and composition of the US Crypto Strategic Reserve.
The summit may mark a pivotal shift for institutional and retail crypto investors as Trump plans to position the US as the “crypto capital of the world”.
Move likely to speed up institutional demand for crypto
The announcement of the US crypto strategic reserve is likely to lead to increased institutional demand for crypto as other countries would also look to establish a similar crypto reserve. Moreover, this could strengthen US leadership in digital asset innovation.
This might also lead to a new cold war as leaks reveal that Russian Lawmakers are also pushing for a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve as an alternative to foreign currency reserve in the aftermath of fund seizure by Western governments in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Increased interest from central banks can create buying pressure, which can lead to a prolonged bull run, with crypto prices likely to reach new highs.
