On the evening of March 2, 2025, former US President Donald Trump posted a series of statements on his social media platform Truth Social, announcing that he would push for the establishment of a "crypto strategic reserve" including Solana (SOL), XRP, Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin (BTC), and Ethereum (ETH). This news quickly ignited the global crypto market, and the prices of many crypto assets also rose in response, with ADA even surging more than 70%. With the crypto summit scheduled to be held at the White House on March 7, the market sentiment has been reinvigorated.
After experiencing a brief panic caused by the plunge of Bitcoin and a host of Altcoins, Trump's statement seems to have brought back the hope of a "bull run", so is the bull market really coming?
01 Trump's Path to a Crypto Strategic Reserve
As early as during the 2024 election campaign, Trump first proposed the idea of establishing a "strategic national Bitcoin reserve" at the Bitcoin conference, promising to retain the approximately 210,000 Bitcoins (worth about $20 billion as of March 2025) held by the US government, and use it to hedge against inflation and national debt pressure. This stance contrasts sharply with the regulatory crackdown on the crypto industry during the Biden administration, quickly winning the industry's favor.
On January 23, 2025, Trump signed the executive order "Strengthening America's Leadership in Digital Finance Technology", establishing a digital asset working group led by David Sacks to explore the possibility of a national reserve.
The Truth Social post on March 2 was the first to explicitly specify the assets. In his first post, he wrote: "The US Crypto Strategic Reserve will elevate this critical industry... My digital asset executive order has directed the Presidential Working Group to advance a strategic reserve including XRP, SOL, and ADA. I will ensure America becomes the crypto capital of the world." An hour later, he added: "Clearly, BTC and ETH, as well as other valuable crypto assets, will be the core of the reserve. I love Bitcoin and Ethereum too!"
The selection of these five assets has sparked heated discussions. BTC and ETH, as the top two cryptocurrencies by market cap, represent the mainstream of the market; XRP, SOL, and ADA are seen as symbols of American domestic innovation, especially with Ripple, the company behind XRP, previously funding crypto-friendly political actions, SOL representing the future potential of high-performance blockchains, and ADA, which has rarely appeared in the public eye before and has the smallest market cap, thus seeing the largest price increase after the news.
Trump emphasized in his posts that this move is a response to the "years of corrupt attacks by the Biden administration", and is in line with the January executive order. Analysts believe that the reserve may utilize the crypto assets seized by law enforcement agencies (such as the BTC currently held by the US), or be gradually built up through market purchases. If realized, this would be the world's first state-led diversified crypto reserve.
02
Crypto Market Reacts Enthusiastically
Trump's statement immediately triggered a strong market reaction. According to CoinGecko data, within 8 hours of the announcement, the price of XRP soared about 40% to $2.96, SOL rose 26% to $177, and ADA even skyrocketed 70% to $1.14. BTC and ETH subsequently rose 10.6% to $94,000 and 12% to $2,516 respectively, collectively driving an increase of about $300 billion in the global crypto market capitalization within a few hours.
Trump's crypto asset reserve plan has also sparked heated discussions in the crypto community, with both supporters and critics.
Supporters:
Crypto investor and podcast host Anthony Pompliano said on X: "Trump's strategic reserve is a landmark event that could push Bitcoin above $150,000. If the government leads the way in hoarding coins, institutional investors will accelerate their entry." He believes that the reserve will not only boost prices, but also inject vitality into US blockchain innovation.
Venice founder Eric said: "This shows that the government has finally recognized the strategic value of crypto assets. The inclusion of SOL and ADA is particularly exciting, as it proves that the US supports a diversified blockchain ecosystem." He expects this will attract global capital to flow back to the US.Critics:
JAN3 CEO Samson strongly criticized: "This is not a strategic reserve, but a 'shit coin reserve'. The inclusion of XRP and SOL is to infuse specific projects, not national interests. Trump's subsequent launch of a meme coin makes this motivation more obvious." He is concerned that this will undermine Bitcoin's unique position.
Gold advocate and Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff said: "The reserve includes a bunch of crypto assets, indicating that BTC is nothing special. Trump's move is more like market intervention to prevent a price crash, rather than a long-term strategy." He predicts that the long-term effect will be limited.
CoinShares research head James Butterfill said: "The market is excited about the specific assets, but the lack of execution details may make the enthusiasm short-lived." Data shows that Bitcoin fell nearly 20% in February due to uncertainty over Trump's trade policies, and whether the current rebound can be sustained remains to be seen.
03 When Will the Crypto Strategic Reserve Be Implemented?
Despite the market's high enthusiasm, the implementation of the crypto strategic reserve faces multiple obstacles.
1) Unclear execution details
Trump did not specify the source of funding and the scale of the reserve. Will it be through the use of fiscal budgets to purchase, or solely relying on seized assets? If only using existing assets, the US's holdings of SOL, XRP, and ADA are limited, making it difficult to achieve scale effects.
2) Regulatory and legal hurdles
The creation of a national reserve may require Congressional approval, but the two parties are deeply divided on crypto. Although Senator Cynthia Lummis has proposed a Bitcoin reserve bill, it has not been passed so far. Additionally, the SEC's past disputes over the security status of XRP have not been fully resolved, and including it in the reserve may lead to legal disputes.
3) Conflict of interest allegations
Trump's family's crypto business casts a shadow over his policy. The 2024 launch of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and his personal MeME coin TRUMP (currently priced at $15.22) have been accused of potentially benefiting from the reserve plan. Critics like Elizabeth Warren have warned that this could be an act of "using public power to boost private assets".
4) Market risks
The high volatility of crypto assets is a concern. In 2024, BTC had a maximum drawdown of 20%, and if the reserve scale expands, violent price fluctuations could affect the security of national assets. A Chainanalysis report shows that the total amount of crypto assets stolen by hackers in recent years has exceeded $5 billion, and security issues cannot be ignored either.
04 Summary
If Trump's reserve plan is implemented, it will reshape the global digital asset landscape. In the short term, the prices of BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA may continue to rise due to policy expectations, attracting institutional participation. Forbes predicts that if the reserve reaches the trillion-dollar level, Bitcoin's market cap could exceed $3 trillion.
In the long run, the key to success lies in execution. The working group needs to submit a report by July, and if they can push through relevant legislation (such as the FIT21 bill) in Congress, the US may seize the initiative in the blockchain field. However, if the details remain unclear for a long time or are blocked by political games, the market enthusiasm may turn into disappointment. David Sacks said on X that "more details will be unveiled at the White House summit." This may be the next step in determining the success or failure of the policy.
Trump's announcement on Truth Social has brought the "crypto strategic reserve" to the forefront, from SOL, XRP, and ADA to BTC and ETH, this plan is both a continuation of his campaign promise and a high-stakes bet on America's digital future. The market has responded with a surge, but from vision to reality, it still needs to overcome the daunting challenges of funding, legal issues, and security. The summit on March 7 may provide more answers, and until then, every wave of fluctuation in the crypto market is worth close attention.
