Donald Trump signs executive order to create Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

US President's decision comes a day before he is slated to meet with executives from the cryptocurrency industry at the White House

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday (local time) establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

 

Trump’s decision comes a day before he is slated to meet executives from the cryptocurrency industry at the White House. David Sacks, the White House crypto czar, took to the social media platform X to announce this decision. He wrote, “The reserve will be capitalised with Bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. This means it will not cost taxpayers a dime.”

 

Ahead of the White House crypto summit, scheduled to take place on Friday, attendees expect President Trump to formally announce his plans to create a reserve that will contain Bitcoin along with four other cryptocurrencies, namely Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA).

 

It is not clear how such a reserve would work or how it will benefit the taxpayers, without offering details, the crypto czar said: “The federal government will have a strategy to maximise the value of its holdings in such a reserve,” reports Reuters.     

He also mentioned that the US government will not sell any Bitcoins which will be deposited into this reserve, rather, it will be kept as a store of value. The reserve will work like a ‘digital Fort Knox’ for the cryptocurrency, often called ‘digital gold’.

 

 The order also creates a US Digital Asset stockpile, which will be handled by the Treasury department and will be responsible for holding the other ‘confiscated cryptocurrencies’. The purpose of this stockpile is ‘responsible stewardship of the govt’s digital assets’, Sacks further wrote.

 

The order has also directed Commerce and Treasury secretaries to develop strategies that are ‘budget-neutral’ in the acquisition of additional Bitcoin, which will have ‘no incremental costs’ on taxpayers. 

 

Bitcoin drops after Sack’s post 

Following Sacks’ announcement on X, Bitcoin witnessed a slight decline of more than 5 per cent to below $85,000 and last changed hands at $88,107.

 

Trump’s love for the crypto 

While his support for the industry has sparked conflict of interest concerns, his love for the industry is pretty evident this time. During his first term, Trump labelled cryptocurrencies as a ‘scam’ and called for stricter norms to prevent its competition with the dollar.

 

However, his stance changed after he received massive support from the industry, during his 2024 election campaign bid. Following this, Trump vowed for a more favourable environment for digital assets. Trump’s decision to establish the crypto reserve is an attempt to boost the legitimacy and acceptance of cryptocurrencies.