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Trump Signs Executive Order for Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

In a landmark move preceding the inaugural White House Crypto Summit, President Donald Trump has enacted an executive order that establishes a strategic bitcoin reserve. According to a factsheet released by the White House, this initiative aims to fulfill Trump’s commitment to positioning the United States as the “crypto capital of the world.”

The new directive mandates that all federal entities currently possessing bitcoins, which have been confiscated as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture actions, are to hand over those assets to the Treasury Department. This department already maintains its own bitcoin holdings. Furthermore, all other forfeited digital assets will be gathered into a newly established Digital Assets Stockpile.

While the President’s announcement has generally been met with optimism among certain bitcoin enthusiasts—evidenced by a surge in bitcoin valuations that hit an unprecedented $109,000 in January, as reported by Reuters—others in the cryptocurrency community expressed disappointment. Critics noted that the executive order made it clear the US government has no current plans to purchase additional bitcoins.

Following the announcement, bitcoin’s price witnessed a sharp decline, dropping approximately 5 percent to around $85,000, according to Reuters. Charles Edwards, the founder of Capriole Investments, a hedge fund focused on bitcoin, expressed his discontent on X (formerly known as Twitter). He characterized the order as “a pig in lipstick,” pointing out that this was simply a rebranding of existing government bitcoin holdings.

Edwards commented, “This is the most underwhelming and disappointing outcome we could have expected for this week.” He noted the lack of active purchasing by the government, suggesting that the title of the reserve does not signify any real change in the government’s approach to bitcoin.

Andrew O’Neill, a managing director at S&P Global Ratings specializing in digital assets, echoed Edwards’ sentiment, stating that the “significance” of Trump’s directive is “mainly symbolic” and lacks a clear timeline for potential future acquisitions of bitcoin by the United States.

The White House, however, emphasized in its factsheet that the establishment of the strategic reserve and the digital assets stockpile is meant to utilize “the power of digital assets for national prosperity rather than letting them languish in limbo.”

Source
arstechnica.com