US President Trump Orders Strategic Crypto Reserve Creation

US President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new crypto reserve on Sunday. The announcement jumpstarted a cryptocurrency rally that raised prices for some involved currencies, like Bitcoin and Etherium. CNBC reports that the former’s price rose either 9% or 11%.

“A U.S. 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,” the President said in a Truth Social post. “I will make sure the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World.”

The “Crypto President”

Trump referred to himself as “pro-Crypto” during his campaign, promising to be a “Crypto President.” Creating a national reserve was one of his campaign promises. The crypto industry was a big contributor in the 2024 US elections. Trump will also host a National Crypto Summit at the White House on March 7. He signed an executive order for a “President’s Working Group” on cryptocurrencies and asked it to look into the “potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement efforts.”

Trump first mentioned the possibility last July at a conference in Nashville.

However, before this announcement, cryptocurrencies were crashing, despite the administration’s pro-crypto stance, like ending investigations the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had conducted under the Biden Administration. The administration’s tariff threats were one of the factors.

Trump’s positions are explicitly contrasted with the Biden Administration’s crypto-skeptic approach. The SEC cracked down on crypto under Gary Gensler. Charges included fraud, scams, and money laundering. Some executives received prison sentences, and companies were charged billions in fines. The SEC has pulled back on these investigations since Trump’s inauguration.

Trump himself launched his own “meme coin”, TrumpCoin. His wife Melania also launched her own, “MELANIA”.

Reserved Reactions

Trump’s pro-crypto approach during the campaign received allies in the industry. According to the website Politico, companies donated $10 million to his inauguration. Industry-related super PACs also spent $131 million on Congressional races, including the Ohio senate race involving long-term senator Sherrod Brown, who called for more regulation.

Despite this, reactions among crypto experts appear to be reserved. One expert, Matt Blumenfeld of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwC) wrote on LinkedIn, “What this really means for the #digitalasset narrative, not much, things are already moving at lightspeed behind the scenes at both traditional financial firms and digital asset natives with the two worlds continuing to converge.”

Other experts aren’t positive if an act of Congress will be needed to create the reserve.