Simone Del Rosario: President Donald Trump is one step closer to making America the cryptocurrency capital of the world. Over the weekend he shed a little light on his plans for a crypto reserve… The U.S. already has crypto in its reserves and so do a number of other nations. 

So before we get there, here’s where we are…. 

The president posted to Truth Social…

“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…”

In that same post, he reiterated a promise made on the campaign trail in July at Bitcoin 2024.

President Donald Trump: This afternoon I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world. I will get it done.

Simone Del Rosario: As far as what tokens will be involved in the crypto reserve… Trump initially said it would include… “XRP (Ripple), SOL (Solana), and ADA (Cardano).”

He later added… “Obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be the heart of the Reserve. I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum!”

Coinbase co-founder Brian Armstrong thinks the reserve would be stronger with “Just Bitcoin.”

The U.S. government currently holds quite a bit of crypto, mostly seized from criminal activity. 

President Donald Trump: But for too long, our government has violated the cardinal rule that every bitcoiner knows by heart, never sell your Bitcoin. It will be the policy of my administration United States of America to keep 100% of all the Bitcoin the US Government currently holds or acquires into the future, we’ll keep 100% I hope you do well, please. This will serve, in effect, as the core of the strategic national Bitcoin stockpile.

Simone Del Rosario: The government currently holds somewhere around 200,000 Bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence. That would put its value around $16 billion depending on price fluctuations. 

Meanwhile, it holds around 56,000 Ethereum… which is worth around $116 million. 

The U.S. isn’t alone in holding cryptocurrency. 

China at one time held just about as much Bitcoin as the U.S.(194,000), but way outpaced the U.S. on its holdings of Ethereum (833,000). That cryptocurrency was seized as part of the PlusToken scam.

It’s hard to know exactly what a nation holds if it isn’t disclosing that data. China is believed to have sold $20 billion in Bitcoin this year. 

The U.K. seized more than 61,000 BTC early last year from an investment fraud situation. 

There are other countries with holdings as well. But I did just want to make mention of El Salvador, which holds just over 6,000 bitcoin. El Salvador is more significant since it made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021. But the nation recently amended that law not to require all merchants to accept the digital asset. The change was made to secure funding from the International Monetary Fund. 

Back to the U.S. News of a crypto reserve was music to the ears of crypto enthusiasts. Since reaching all-time highs above $100,000 in early February, the price of bitcoin plunged nearly 20%. Over the weekend, it recouped more than 15% of those losses but lost most of it again to start the week.

Ethereum saw a similar spike. 

The president has been very active in his support for the crypto community AND industry since reentering the White House.

In the first days following his inauguration, Trump established a working group on crypto to be led by the White House’s AI and Cryptocurrency czar David Sacks. 

Part of that working group was to look into creating a national crypto stockpile. It will also propose a regulatory framework for the industry. 

In February, Sacks said he was already working with lawmakers on the latter. 

David Sacks: Well, I was on the Hill today meeting with the leaders of our house and senate committees for banking and for finance, and they are very committed to moving legislation through the House and the Senate this year in order to provide that clear regulatory framework that the digital assets ecosystem needs to sustain innovation in the United States. And so those chairmen, I think, are very committed. President Trump is committed, and I think we can do something here. But as you know, moving legislation through Congress takes time.

Meanwhile, The Trump administration will hold a crypto industry summit on Friday. According to the Office of Communications… 

“Attendees will include prominent founders, CEOs, and investors from the crypto industry, as well as members of the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets.”

“President Trump’s policy vision represents a new era for digital financial technology. The administration is committed to providing a clear regulatory framework, enabling innovation, and protecting economic liberty.”

Sacks will chair the summit in his role as Crypto Czar.