Trump’s US Crypto Reserve Raises More Questions Than It Answers

With Trump’s election, America got the nation’s first self-described “crypto president,” and on Friday (March 7), the U.S. will get its first crypto summit at the White House, chaired by White House Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Crypto Czar David Sacks.

It represents a remarkable turnabout in the U.S. government’s approach to digital currencies. On Sunday (March 2), President Trump gave the digital asset sector more news to look forward to, after a month’s long market sell-off that saw bitcoin drop nearly 20% from its post-election record high, by announcing not just the creation of a U.S. strategic cryptocurrency reserve but also the digital assets it could be composed of: bitcoin, ethereum, XRP, Solana’s SOL coin and Cardano’s ADA.

“A U.S. Crypto Reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks by the Biden Administration, which is why my Executive Order on Digital Assets directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA,” the president wrote on the Truth Social platform. “I will make sure the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World.”

“And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be at the heart of the Reserve,” Trump added in a later post. “I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum!”

President Trump’s declaration of the U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve not only elevates the status of cryptocurrencies but could also challenge traditional notions of monetary policy and asset management. The reserve also raises many more questions around operational realities such as custody and management than Trump’s announcement alone answers.

Overall, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization expanded by over $300 billion in the hours following the announcement, with many of the gains concentrated across the digital assets named in the upcoming reserve.

Read more: How the World Does Crypto and What It Means for US Businesses

A Paradigm Shift in US Financial Strategy

The crypto reserve initiative stems from an executive order signed in January 2025, titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology,” which established the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. This group was tasked with exploring the creation of a national digital asset stockpile, initially considering the use of seized cryptocurrencies. The recent announcement delineates specific cryptocurrencies to be included, underscoring a more structured approach to digital asset integration.

As PYMNTS has covered, nearly 48% of all corporate money contributed to the 2024 election cycle came from crypto firms, and the 2024 elections saw 250 “pro crypto” members of Congress elected along with 16 “pro crypto” senators.

While campaigning as America’s “first crypto president,” Trump made at least eight promises to his crypto supporters. They were: to free Ross Ulbricht, fire then-chairman of the SEC Gary Gensler, establish a bitcoin national reserve, kill “operation chokepoint 2.0,” protect self-custody, ban the digital dollar CBDC, mine bitcoin in the U.S. and put clear regulations in place.

After a slow start that saw crypto markets start to stall out, as Trump himself did little more for crypto than launch a meme coin, the administration has in recent days renewed its focus on the digital asset space.

“The announcement of the strategic crypto reserve is the catalyst that the crypto market has been waiting for to kick-start the next leg of the bull rally. What’s clear is that the US President is now the driving force for crypto market movements, and he is certainly playing favorites with crypto tokens,” Chris Chung, founder of Solana-based swap platform Titan, told PYMNTS.

Read more: Making Sense of Trump’s CBDC Ban and Crypto Stockpile Order

Filling the Regulatory Vacuum

The upcoming White House crypto summit is expected to provide further clarity on upcoming legislation, and the event will feature prominent crypto founders, CEOs, investors and members of the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets.

Already, Trump’s election has ushered in a change in regulatory policy toward crypto, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) either pausing or withdrawing cases against some of the industry’s biggest names.

While cryptocurrencies have long been regarded as alternative assets, primarily used by private investors and financial institutions, their recognition at a national level could fundamentally alter their perception and adoption across industries.

Still, this move could challenge traditional notions of monetary policy and asset management in several ways. Traditionally, central banks like the Federal Reserve control monetary policy through mechanisms such as interest rates and money supply adjustments, largely based on fiat currency. The introduction of a state-backed crypto reserve raises questions about how it would interact with these traditional tools.

Would the reserve be used to stabilize crypto markets in the way central banks intervene in forex and bond markets? Could this signal a shift toward a more digital and decentralized financial framework, potentially reducing the Federal Reserve’s control over liquidity and inflation management?

Ultimately, unlike traditional reserves consisting of gold or foreign currencies, cryptocurrencies require secure digital storage solutions, which could involve multi-signature wallets, government-controlled custodians, or even collaborations with private-sector entities like exchanges. There are also legal and security challenges related to ownership, hacking risks, and governance over private keys.