Washington, D.C. – U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, just a day before hosting cryptocurrency industry executives at the White House.
The reserve will be funded with bitcoin seized by the federal government through asset forfeiture proceedings, according to White House crypto advisor David Sacks. In a post on social media platform X, Sacks likened the initiative to a “digital Fort Knox,” emphasizing that the U.S. will hold the bitcoin as a store of value rather than selling it.
At Friday’s White House crypto summit, Trump is expected to formally announce his plan to build the reserve, which will include bitcoin along with four other cryptocurrencies: ether, XRP, solana, and cardano. While details on the reserve’s functionality and benefits remain unclear, proponents argue it could allow taxpayers to benefit from the potential appreciation of digital assets.
However, the move has drawn mixed reactions. Critics claim the initiative is merely a rebranding of government-held bitcoin, without any active buying strategy. Charles Edwards, founder of Bitcoin-focused hedge fund Capriole Investments, called the announcement “underwhelming,” stating that it offers no new market impact.
Bitcoin’s price briefly dipped over 5% to below $85,000 following the announcement, before recovering to $88,107.
Trump’s growing alignment with the crypto industry has also raised ethical concerns. His family has been involved in launching cryptocurrency meme coins, and he holds a stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform. While his aides insist that outside ethics lawyers are reviewing his business ventures, some critics worry about potential conflicts of interest.
The executive order directs the Treasury and Commerce departments to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring more bitcoin without imposing additional costs on taxpayers. Sacks estimated that the U.S. government owns approximately 200,000 bitcoins and that premature sales of the cryptocurrency have cost taxpayers around $17 billion. However, the methodology behind these estimates remains uncertain.
