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Strategic bitcoin reserve

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Strategic bitcoin reserve
"Establishment Of The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve And United States Digital Asset Stockpile"
Seal of the President of the United States
TypeExecutive order
PresidentDonald Trump
SignedMarch 6, 2025
Summary
Establishes a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to maintain government-owned Bitcoin as a national reserve asset, along with a Digital Asset Stockpile for other cryptocurrencies.

The strategic bitcoin reserve is a reserve asset, funded by the United States Treasury's forfeited bitcoin, announced by President Donald Trump in March 2025. Separately, a digital asset stockpile for non-bitcoin assets was also created. Trump has previously stated that he wants the US to become the "crypto capital of the world".[1][2][3][4]

The reserve will be capitalized with bitcoin already owned by the federal government.[5] The United States is the largest known state holder of bitcoin in the world, estimated to hold about 200,000 BTC, as of March 2025.[6]

The reserve has provoked mixed reactions, from some economists criticizing the idea,[7] to governments of several states initializing similar projects.[8][9][10]

History

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During his first presidency (2017–2021), Trump voiced his disapproval of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,[11] but later changed his mind.[12]

On July 15, 2024, Donald Trump officially selected JD Vance as his running mate for the presidential election.[13] Vance was the first known Bitcoin owner to run for vice-president.[12] On July 27, 2024, Trump announced his intention to establish a bitcoin reserve, if elected.[14]

President Donald Trump with Republican senators, 19 January 2025. On the top right - Cynthia Lummis

On July 31, 2024, Republican senator Cynthia Lummis introduced BITCOIN Act proposing the creation of a strategic bitcoin reserve and a purchase of 1,000,000 BTC for it. The Act was blocked by Democrat senator Sherrod Brown.[15][16]

In August 2024, Trump disclosed that he owns $1-5 million worth of ethereum.[17]

In November 2024, Trump chose Howard Lutnick to be the United States Secretary of Commerce. Lutnick owns “hundreds of millions of dollars” in bitcoin, according to his own public statements.[18][19]

In December 2024, Trump said he would nominate Paul S. Atkins to run the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Atkins has been involved in several cryptocurrency advocacy groups, including the Token Alliance and the Chamber of Digital Commerce.[20] Gary Gensler, the head of the SEC at the time, was a "staunch advocate of sweeping cryptocurrency regulation".[21]

In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order, titled "Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology," established the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets to evaluate the potential creation of a national digital asset stockpile and to propose criteria for establishing such a stockpile. The order also proposed to use lawfully seized cryptocurrencies to fill the stockpile.[22]

In February 2025, the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Banking Committee held hearings on the topic of Biden's administration's alleged attempts to suppress the American cryptocurrency industry.[23][24]

On March 3, 2025, President Trump announced that the reserve would include Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), and Bitcoin (BTC) aiming to make the US the "Crypto Capital of the World" and support industry growth.[25][26][27] The announcement caused the prices of Solana, Cardano, and XRP to jump after Trump's announcement, followed by the prices gradually declining on Monday.[28]

The reserve is intended to elevate the digital asset sector, responding to what Trump described as previous Biden administration attacks. It marks a shift from a vague stockpile concept to naming specific cryptocurrencies, potentially purchased or held by the government for strategic purposes. The working group, chaired by the White House AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks, is expected to provide recommendations by July 2025.[2]

The next day after signing the second executive order, Trump held a "Digital Asset Summit" in the White House, attended by representatives of major American crypto companies, including Gemini, Robinhood, Kraken, MicroStrategy, Coinbase, Paradigm, and others.[29]

On March 11, 2025, senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a bitcoin reserve bill again, this time co-sponsored by 5 other senators. The bill would direct a purchase of 1 mln BTC over five years, by diversifying existing federal funds. According to Lummis, the bill will transform "the president’s visionary executive action into enduring law".[30][31]

On March 24, 2025, Bo Hines, the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, stated that selling some of the U.S. gold holdings would be a budget-neutral way to acquire more bitcoin.[32]

In March 2025, two federal banking regulators (OCC and FDIC) announced that banks do not need to receive advance permission to engage in cryptocurrency anymore.[33][34]

Executive order

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A strategic reserve is a stockpile of resources kept by governments to provide a safety net during hard times. Examples include the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and United States Bullion Depository for gold.[35]

On March 6, 2025, Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve.[36][37] The executive order establishes:[36][37][38]

  • A Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as a permanent reserve asset, funded by Treasury's forfeited bitcoin. Agencies will explore transferring their bitcoin to this reserve. The US won't sell these coins and may develop taxpayer-neutral strategies of acquiring more bitcoin.
  • A U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile for non-bitcoin digital assets forfeited to Treasury. No additional assets will be acquired beyond forfeitures. Treasury may determine stewardship strategies, including potential sales.
  • A requirement for all agencies to fully account for their digital asset holdings to Treasury and the President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.

Federal agencies must account for all digital assets and review transfer authority within 30 days. Also, the Treasury Secretary must evaluate legal and investment factors and propose legislation within 60 days.[10]

Reactions

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Governments

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 Belarus: president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced that the country should develop its cryptocurrency mining industry, arguing that the bitcoin reserve in the US is an indication of cryptocurrencies' global importance.[39]

 European Union: the managing director of the European Stability Mechanism publicly criticized the US policy shift towards cryptocurrencies, arguing that it could "affect the euro area's monetary sovereignty and financial stability" due to the risks for the EU's digital euro project, especially from the possibility that American tech giants will create their own stablecoins.[40] President of the European Central Bank also criticized the idea, and stated that "bitcoin will not enter the reserves of any of the central banks of the [EU]."[41]

 India: the Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth announced that the Indian government is reviewing its stance on cryptocurrencies, due to the recent more positive attitude towards them in other countries.[42]

 South Korea: in an official response, the Bank of Korea stated that it's not considering including bitcoin into reserves, citing high price volatility and the non-compliance with IMF's criteria for foreign exchange reserves.[43]

  Switzerland: Swiss National Bank rejected a proposal to create a bitcoin reserve, citing bitcoin's volatility, relatively small market capitalisation, and the fact that bitcoin is a software.[44]

 United States: 16 US states have introduced bitcoin reserve legislation, as of March 7, 2025.[45] Among them, Oklahoma, Utah, Arizona, and Texas have already successfully passed their bitcoin reserve bills out of committee.[46][8]

Journalists, experts, etc

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In a February 2025 survey of economists by University of Chicago, not a single economist agreed that borrowing money to create a strategic crypto reserve would benefit the US economy or that holding crypto assets would lower the risk of central banks' international reserves portfolios. In both cases, 13% declined to answer, and 8% answered as "uncertain".[7]

According to a representative of S&P Global Ratings, “The significance of [Trump's] executive order is mainly symbolic, as it marks the first time Bitcoin is formally recognized as a reserve asset of the United States government.”[47]

Deutsche Welle, a German state-owned broadcaster, lists the following pros and cons of the proposed US national bitcoin reserve:[35]

  • Enhances financial stability by diversifying national reserves.
  • Boosts the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies among financial institutions.
  • Utilizes seized assets without additional taxpayer cost.
  • Represents a speculative investment with unclear strategic benefits, which could vanish in a market crash.
  • Could enable government manipulation of the crypto market, as is common with gold and fiat currencies.
  • Faces legal and political challenges regarding legitimacy, unless it gains the necessary congressional support.

Similar initiatives in other countries

[edit]
Bitcoin holdings of El Salvador

Ongoing

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In 2020, Iran implemented regulations that require Iranian bitcoin miners to sell bitcoin to the Central Bank of Iran, so the central bank can use it for imports.[48] Shaparak, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of Iran, maintains control over 42 cryptocurrency exchanges.[49][50]

As of 2024, Bhutan, through the country's sovereign investment arm, is running a large-scale bitcoin mining operation, utilizing the country's abundant hydroelectric resources. This allowed Bhutan to accumulate $750 million in bitcoin holdings, representing 28% of the small country's GDP.[51]

As of March 2025, El Salvador has over 6102 BTC in its bitcoin reserves (worth $550 million at the time).[52]

Proposed

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Parliaments of several countries introduced bills to allow their respective central banks to hold a bitcoin reserve, including Argentina,[53] Brazil,[54] Hong Kong,[55] Japan.[56]

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund has announced plans to explore diversifying into Bitcoin.[56]

In December 2024, Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported on an official proposal to create a Russian strategic bitcoin reserve, after Putin praised bitcoin as an alternative to foreign currency reserves.[57]

In January 2025, the Czech National Bank announced that it will consider holding as much as 5% of its 140 billion euro ($146 billion) reserves in bitcoin.[9]

Countries with large bitcoin holdings

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Authorities of several countries have accumulated large bitcoin holdings. As of January 2025, the largest known state holders included:[58][59]

  • United States (207,189 BTC)
  • China (194,000 BTC)
  • United Kingdom (61,000 BTC)
  • Ukraine (46,351 BTC)
  • Bhutan (13,029 BTC)
  • El Salvador (6,003 BTC)

Other large holders include North Korea (13,500 BTC),[60] Finland (890 BTC), and India (450 BTC).[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mott, Filip De (March 2, 2025). "A key part of the bitcoin bull case has lost steam. What to know about efforts to start a bitcoin reserve". Business Insider. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Ishmael, Stacy-Marie; Shen, Muyao (March 2, 2025). "Trump Sparks Crypto Rally by Saying More Coins to Be in Reserve". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  3. ^ Hunnicutt, Trevor (March 3, 2025). "Trump names cryptocurrencies in strategic reserve, sending prices up". Reuters. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  4. ^ Durkee, Alison (March 2, 2025). "Trump Announces 'Crypto Strategic Reserve'—Here's What To Know". Forbes. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  5. ^ https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-signs-order-establish-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-white-house-crypto-czar-2025-03-07/
  6. ^ a b "Trump announces US crypto reserve: What it is, and why it matters". Al Jazeera. March 4, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Crypto Holdings by US Public Authorities". Clark Center Forum. February 19, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Birnbaum, Dave (February 27, 2025). "Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Advances Amid Market Volatility". Forbes. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Czech central bank to consider holding bitcoin as reserve asset". Reuters. January 29, 2025. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Davis, Daniel J.; Kim, Alexander C. (March 7, 2025). "Distinctions Between Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile". The National Law Review. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  11. ^ Orcutt, Mike (February 19, 2020). "Michael Bloomberg has taken Andrew Yang's place as the cryptocurrency candidate". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Cryptocurrency's growing role in US elections". Economist Intelligence Unit. October 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Main, Alison; Bradner, Eric (July 15, 2024). "Trump selected Ohio Sen. JD Vance, a critic turned ally, as running mate after last-minute push from son". CNN. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  14. ^ Klein, Jessica (July 27, 2024). "Donald Trump Backs 'Strategic Bitcoin Stockpile' in Speech to Crypto Faithful". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
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  24. ^ "Meuser: The Biden Administration's Operation Choke Point 2.0 Was Carried Out by The Prudential Regulators to Target and Debank the Digital Asset Ecosystem | Financial Services Committee". financialservices.house.gov. February 6, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
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  32. ^ https://finance.yahoo.com/news/white-house-says-gold-reserves-213421472.html
  33. ^ https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/fdic-says-banks-can-engage-crypto-activities-without-prior-approval-2025-03-28/
  34. ^ https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-bank-regulator-reaffirms-banks-can-engage-some-crypto-activities-2025-03-07/
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  37. ^ a b "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile". The White House. March 7, 2025.
  38. ^ "Establishment of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile". The White House. March 7, 2025.
  39. ^ "Лукашенко поручил развивать в Беларуси майнинг". belta.by (in Russian). March 4, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
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  41. ^ "Monetary policy statement (With Q&A)". January 30, 2025.
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  43. ^ https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10442438
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  46. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (March 4, 2025). "Why Trump's Crypto Reserve Plan Has Experts Worried". Time. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
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  49. ^ "۴۲ شرکت‌ رمرزارز اطلاعات خود را به شاپرک ارائه کردند". Islamic Republic News Agency. March 4, 2025. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  50. ^ حیدری, هانا (March 4, 2025). "مرکز ملی فضای مجازی: رمزارزهای جهان روا مانند بیت‌کوین و اتریوم رمزپول نیست و بانک مرکزی فقط تنظیم‌گر رمزپول است".
  51. ^ Sergeenkov, Andrey (September 17, 2024). "How Bhutan Quietly Built $750 Million In Bitcoin Holdings". Forbes. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  52. ^ Renteria, Nelson; Campos, Rodrigo (March 6, 2025). "El Salvador announces more bitcoin purchases, gives IMF assurances". Reuters. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  53. ^ Manfredi, Melina (November 16, 2024). "Con el bitcoin en su valor más alto, un diputado del PRO presentó un proyecto para que el Banco Central pueda operar con criptomonedas". Todo Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  54. ^ Esposito, Eduarda (November 25, 2024). "Deputado do PL propõe reserva estratégica soberana de Bitcoins pelo governo". Economia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  55. ^ Masrani, Annika (December 30, 2024). "Hong Kong Lawmaker Proposes Adding Bitcoin to Reserves". Nasdaq. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  56. ^ a b Niv, Tomer (December 16, 2024). "The Cold War Of National Bitcoin Reserve: Global Race For Digital Gold". Forbes. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  57. ^ Bambrough, Billy (December 10, 2024). "Leak Reveals Russia's Bid For Bitcoin Reserve Amid Huge 2025 Price Predictions". Forbes. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  58. ^ Franjkovic, Teuta (June 6, 2023). "Top 10 Biggest Holders of Bitcoin and the Billions They Are Worth". CCN.com.
  59. ^ Chaturvedi, Vinamrata (December 3, 2024). "5 countries that own the most Bitcoin". Quartz. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  60. ^ https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/north-koreas-lazarus-hacking-group-now-holds-more-bitcoin-than-these-countries
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