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 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]
Even before the establishment of the reserve, the United States was already the largest known state holder of bitcoin, estimated to hold 207189 BTC, as of January 1, 2025. Other top holders include China, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Bhutan, El Salvador, with the last two actively building up their national bitcoin reserves by mining or buying bitcoin.[5][6][7]
The US reserve was established by two executive orders:
"Establishment Of The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve And United States Digital Asset Stockpile" (March 6, 2025).
The reserve has provoked mixed reactions, from some economists criticizing the idea[8], to governments of several states initializing similar projects.[9][10][11]
History
During his first presidency, Trump voiced his disapproval of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.[12] Trump later changed his mind, and in 2024 promised to create a "strategic national Bitcoin stockpile" in the US.[13] Trump's vice-presidential pick, JD Vance, was the first known Bitcoin owner to run for vice-president.[13]
President Donald Trump with female Republican Senators, 19 January 2025. On the top right - Cynthia Lummis
In August 2024, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced to the 118th Congress the “Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act of 2024”, or BITCOIN Act. The bill mandates that all bitcoin held by any Federal agency be transferred to the Treasury to be held in a strategic bitcoin reserve. In addition, it mandates that the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase a total of 1000000 Bitcoins.[14] The Act was referred to the Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who blocked the bill. Brown later lost his seat to Bernie Moreno, Chairman of the Board of a blockchain company.[15]
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 explore a national digital asset stockpile, initially suggested to use seized cryptocurrencies.[16] The recent Truth Social announcement by President Trump specified 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.[17][18][19] The announcement caused the prices of Solana, Cardano, and XRP to jump after Trump's announcement, followed by the prices gradually declining on Monday.[20]
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.[21]
A Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile
On March 6, 2025, Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve.[23][24] The executive order establishes:[23][24][25]
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.
The executive order establishes an implementation schedule with specific deadlines[26]:
Federal agencies must account for all digital assets and review transfer authority within 30 days.
The Treasury Secretary must evaluate legal and investment factors and propose legislation within 60 days.
Reactions
In February 2025 a group of economists was asked if "central banks' international reserves portfolios would have substantially lower risk if they were to hold a substantial portion of their reserves in crypto assets." None of the participants agreed with the statement. Additionally, none of them agreed that the US economy would benefit substantially by borrowing money to form a strategic crypto asset reserve fund.[27]
On February 27, 2025, the Texas Senate Banking Committee unanimously advanced Senate Bill 21 (SB-21), proposing the creation of a Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.[28] The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.[29] Texas is among many other states that have introduced bitcoin reserve legislation, including Arizona, Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Kansas, Wyoming and Kentucky.[30]
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.”[31]
Deutsche Welle, a German state-owned broadcaster, lists the following pros and cons of the proposed US national bitcoin reserve[32]:
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
Bitcoin holdings of El Salvador
In 2020, Iran announced pending regulations that would require bitcoin miners in Iran to sell bitcoin to the Central Bank of Iran, and the central bank would use it for imports.[33]Shaparak, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of Iran, maintains control over 42 cryptocurrency exchanges.[34][35]
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.[36]
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.[37]
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