US President Donald Trump yesterday (Thursday) signed an executive order to establish a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve to hold assets seized by the US government. The order also mandates the creation of a Digital Asset Stockpile for other types of crypto assets.
A Store of Seized Cryptocurrencies
Initially, the assets stored under the order will be those seized by the US government in various criminal cases. White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks described the Bitcoin reserve as “a digital Fort Knox for cryptocurrencies,” adding that the country would hold them long-term without selling.
JUST NOW! President Trump signs an Executive Order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/N9p2sQknVS
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) March 7, 2025
The executive order follows days of speculation after the President first hinted at the crypto reserve on his Truth Social account. Initially, he posted that XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) would be included in the strategic reserve. However, he later stated that Bitcoin and Ethereum would also be part of it, calling them “the heart of the Reserve.”
According to Arkham Intelligence, the US government currently holds a total of $18.28 billion in cryptocurrencies. The largest holding is 198,109 Bitcoin, worth $17.87 billion, followed by Ether worth $119 million and Tether worth $122 million. The government also holds tens of millions in other tokens, but none of its seized holdings include XRP, SOL, or ADA.
Proper Accounting Is Pending
“The Reserve will be capitalised with Bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings,” Sacks noted in an X post.
Just a few minutes ago, President Trump signed an Executive Order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. 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…
— David Sacks (@davidsacks47) March 7, 2025
He also claimed that the US government has never fully audited its seized crypto holdings. The new executive order “directs a full accounting of the federal government’s digital asset holdings.”
The Treasury Department’s Bitcoin holdings will be used to seed the reserve, while other federal agencies “will evaluate their legal authority” to transfer their crypto holdings into it.
The order further instructs the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to develop “budget-neutral strategies” to acquire more Bitcoin for the reserve. However, these purchases must “impose no incremental costs on American taxpayers.”
Despite the announcement, Trump’s executive order failed to boost the crypto market. Bitcoin lost about 5% in the past 24 hours, with Ether experiencing a similar drop.
This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.
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