US President Donald Trump took a major step toward mainstream cryptocurrency adoption on Thursday (US time) by signing an executive order establishing a government-held Bitcoin reserve. After Trump’s landmark order, Bitcoin’s price plunged up to 5.7 percent.
Around 0100 GMT, Bitcoin had fallen to $84,707, after White House artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency advisor David Sacks said on X: “The Reserve will be capitalized 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.”
Trump’s “crypto czar,” hailed the new order, saying, “President Trump promised to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile. Those promises have been kept. “
He said that under the new order, the US government will be retaining almost 200,000 bitcoin that were seized in criminal and civil proceedings.
Sacks informed, “The US will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold,’”
The order mandates a ‘full accounting’ of the government’s bitcoin holdings, which the czar claims were never properly audited. He also revealed that over the past 10 years, the country had sold almost 195,000 bitcoins for just $366 million, which would now be worth an estimated $17 billion, had they not been sold.
Furthermore, the order also enabled the treasury and commerce departments to explore budget-neutral strategies to acquire more bitcoin.
Trump’s stance towards digital gold has seen a drastic transition, as he once dismissed bitcoin as a “scam,” but has now positioned himself as the industry’s strongest political ally. His administration has actively rolled back regulatory measures, and he has urged Congress to pass crypto-friendly legislation. On Friday, he is set to host industry leaders at the White House for a “Crypto Summit.”
The order also created a separate “US Digital Asset Stockpile” for holding seized cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. On Sunday, Trump caused a brief market spike after unexpectedly stating his interest in the government holding lesser-known cryptocurrencies such as XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
Bitcoin, the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency, was created in response to the 2008 financial crisis by an anonymous developer or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto. While it has yet to become a mainstream payment method, its supply of 21 million coins has led many to consider it a safety net against inflation. Some believe a strategic bitcoin reserve could even help pay off the US national debt in the future.
Crypto markets soared after Trump’s election win, and when bitcoin first crossed $100,000, however, prices have since cooled.US President Donald Trump took a major step toward mainstream cryptocurrency adoption on Thursday (US time) by signing an executive order establishing a government-held Bitcoin reserve. After Trump’s landmark order, Bitcoin’s price plunged up to 5.7 percent.
Around 0100 GMT, Bitcoin had fallen to $84,707, after White House artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency advisor David Sacks said on X: “The Reserve will be capitalized 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.”
Trump’s “crypto czar,” David Sacks informed that under the new order, the US government will be retaining almost 200,000 bitcoin that were seized in criminal and civil proceedings.
Sacks said, “The US will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold,’”
The order mandates a ‘full accounting’ of the government’s bitcoin holdings, which the czar claims were never properly audited. He also revealed that over the past 10 years, the country had sold almost 195,000 bitcoins for just $366 million, which would now be worth an estimated $17 billion, had they not been sold.
Furthermore, the order also enabled the treasury and commerce departments to explore budget-neutral strategies to acquire more bitcoin.
Trump’s stance towards digital gold has seen a drastic transition, as he once dismissed bitcoin as a “scam,” but has now positioned himself as the industry’s strongest political ally. His administration has actively rolled back regulatory measures, and he has urged Congress to pass crypto-friendly legislation. On Friday, he is set to host industry leaders at the White House for a “Crypto Summit.”
The order also created a separate “US Digital Asset Stockpile” for holding seized cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. On Sunday, Trump caused a brief market spike after unexpectedly stating his interest in the government holding lesser-known cryptocurrencies such as XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
Bitcoin, the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency, was created in response to the 2008 financial crisis by an anonymous developer or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto. While it has yet to become a mainstream payment method, its supply of 21 million coins has led many to consider it a safety net against inflation. Some believe a strategic bitcoin reserve could even help pay off the US national debt in the future.
Crypto markets soared after Trump’s election win, and when bitcoin first crossed $100,000, however, prices have since cooled.