According to estimates, the U.S. government controls approximately 200,000 bitcoin, though no full audit has ever been conducted. Trump\u2019s order mandates a comprehensive accounting of federal digital asset holdings and prohibits the sale of bitcoin from the reserve, positioning it as a permanent store of value.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the order establishes a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, managed by the Treasury Department, to hold other confiscated cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n
Many crypto investors who have supported Trump raised concerns over the weekend after the president said in a post on Truth Social that in addition to bitcoin, ether
\n, XRP
\n, Solana\u2019s SOL
\ntoken, and Cardano\u2019s ADA
\ncoin would be part of a strategic crypto reserve.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have nothing against XRP, SOL, or ADA but I do not think they are suitable for a Strategic Reserve,\u201d bitcoin billionaire Tyler Winklevoss wrote. \u201cOnly one digital asset in the world right now meets the bar and that digital asset is bitcoin.\u201d<\/p>\n
SOL, ether and bitcoin all fell around 5% late Thursday, while ADA plunged nearly 12%.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the announcement, Castle Island Venture\u2019s Nic Carter told CNBC that the U.S. committing to a bitcoin-only reserve would \u201cratify bitcoin as a global asset of consequence, somewhere in the realm of gold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe U.S. is clearly the most important nation in the world, and so their stamp of approval really does a lot for bitcoin,\u201d Carter said, noting that including any digital currencies other that bitcoin would have made it look like another speculative fund.<\/p>\n
Ryan Gilbert, a fintech investor, said the move will send a strong message to institutions that bitcoin is here to stay. He said the decision would further distinguish bitcoin from other cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been many folks out there for the past decade and a half that have said bitcoin is the way to go, ignore the other tokens,\u201d Gilbert said. \u201cI do think it will help bitcoin as a token, as an asset, separate itself from all the others as far as the debate is concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Gilbert said the U.S. has to be cautious in how it manages the reserve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we don\u2019t want to see is the U.S. actively trading bitcoin,\u201d he said. \u201cA reserve should be a long-term store of value, not something that introduces market-moving speculation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sacks praised the decision, calling it a milestone in making the U.S. the \u201ccrypto capital of the world.\u201d He previously noted that the U.S. lost over $17 billion in potential value by selling seized bitcoin prematurely.<\/p>\n
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will oversee further policy development, with a focus on budget-neutral acquisition strategies for bitcoin, according to Sacks.<\/p>\n