Bitcoin boom? Cryptos sink as Trump's executive order disappoints market

In a historic move, US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, signaling a dramatic shift in US digital asset policy.

White House Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist, confirmed on X that the reserve will be funded exclusively with Bitcoin seized in criminal and civil forfeiture cases, ensuring that taxpayers won’t foot the bill.

According to estimates, the US government controls around 200,000 bitcoin, though a full audit has never been conducted.

That would be valued at $17,469,200,000, given the current price of Bitcoin at $87,346.00 (3am GMT).

Trump’s order now mandates a comprehensive accounting of federal digital asset holdings and prohibits the sale of bitcoin from the reserve, positioning it as a long-term store of value.

In addition to the bitcoin reserve, the executive order establishes a US Digital Asset Stockpile, managed by the Treasury Department, to hold other confiscated cryptocurrencies.

However, some Trump supporters in the crypto space raised concerns after the president suggested on Truth Social that other tokens — Ether, XRP, Solana’s SOL, and Cardano’s ADA — might be included.

Bitcoin billionaire Tyler Winklevoss was quick to push back:

“I have nothing against XRP, SOL, or ADA, but I do not think they are suitable for a Strategic Reserve. Only one digital asset in the world right now meets the bar, and that digital asset is bitcoin.”

Ahead of the announcement, Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures told CNBC that a bitcoin-only reserve would cement its status as a major global asset:

“The U.S. is clearly the most important nation in the world, and so their stamp of approval really does a lot for bitcoin.”

Fintech investor Ryan Gilbert believes the move will send a strong message to institutions that bitcoin is here to stay:

“There’s been many folks out there for the past decade and a half that have said bitcoin is the way to go, ignore the other tokens. This decision will help bitcoin further separate itself from the rest.”

However, Gilbert also warned that the U.S. must be careful in how it manages the reserve:

“What we don’t want to see is the U.S. actively trading bitcoin. A reserve should be a long-term store of value, not something that introduces market-moving speculation.”

Sacks hailed the decision as a milestone in making the U.S. the ‘crypto capital of the world.’ He previously criticized past government sales of seized bitcoin, noting that the US lost over $17 billion in potential value by selling too soon.

Looking ahead, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will oversee further policy development, with an emphasis on budget-neutral acquisition strategies for bitcoin.

With this move, the U.S. isn’t just holding bitcoin—it’s making a bold statement about its place in the future of digital finance.

Bitcoin and other tokens fell as Sacks said that taxpayer money would not be spent to acquire cryptocurrencies for either. 

Bitcoin sank about 4 per cent to trade around $86,000 at 8:10 pm New York time Thursday, before making a slight recovery early on Friday (March 7, 2025). Four other tokens that Trump had said he wanted to include in the US reserve — XRP, Ether SOL and ADA — also slumped at least 3.5 per cent.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)