Trump creates Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

President Donald Trumpordered the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, as well as another reserve for the "orderly and strategic management" of other digital assets held by the state.

In his executive order on Thursday, Trump directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to create an office to maintain the exclusive reserve for bitcoin, defined in the executive text as "the original cryptocurrency."

"The Bitcoin protocol permanently caps the total supply of bitcoin (BTC) at 21 million coins, and has never been hacked," the order notes. As a result of that "scarcity and security," it notes, it is often referred to as "digital gold": "Because there is a fixed supply of BTC, there is a strategic advantage to being among the first nations to create a strategic bitcoin reserve."

The reserve will contain digital currencies already in the possession of the state, either by judicial proceedings (e.g., a seizure) or sanctions from departments or agencies. They may not be acquired from other sources "without further executive or legislative action," nor may they be brought in.

The stockpiling of other virtual currencies must be treated similarly, with a separate office in charge. Although the order does not detail which crypto assets will comprise the reserve, Trump advanced over the weekend that it would be composed of, among others, XRP, SOL, ADA and ETH.

'A digital Fort Knox'

"It is estimated that the U.S. government owns about 200,000 bitcoin," argued David Sacks, Trump's cryptocurrency czar. However, "a full audit has never been conducted" up to the one required in the new executive order.

"Premature sales of bitcoin have already cost U.S. taxpayers over $17 billion in lost value," he added: "Now the federal government will have a strategy to maximize the value of its holdings."

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is "a digital Fort Knox," in his words, that won't cost taxpayers "a dime." Even in the case of possible new bitcoin acquisitions, these will have to be "budget-neutral."

Sacks stressed that the measure "underscores President Trump’s commitment" to turn the United States into the "crypto capital of the world," a promise he made during the campaign. Donations from the industry became key to his return to the White House.

In those months, Trump also personally turned to cryptocurrencies, with initiatives such as The DeFiant Ones, the company World Liberty Financial and $TRUMP.

Bitcoin records a drop

Following the release of the order, the price of Bitcoin dropped as much as 5.7% against the dollar. However, it then bounced back, hovering around 3%.

Other cryptocurrencies such as XRP and Dogecoin also recorded declines.