President Donald Trump has instructed the administration to establish a Bitcoin Strategic Preparation to retain assets seized by the government, and is being called for crypto stockpiles for other types of assets.
At this point, all assets assumed in the order have been seized on civil or criminal forfeiture. Bitcoin is stored for long-term value in what is called “Digital Fort Knox.”
“The reserve will be capitalized with federal-owned Bitcoin, which has been confiscated as part of a criminal or civil property confiscation procedure,” Trump's Crypto Emperor David Sachs said in a statement posted on social media site X.
In a video showing the president signing the order, Trump said, “You made a promise, didn't you?”
The order also tweaked government officials to seek ways to add more Bitcoin to the sanctuary, provided they do not harm the federal budget.
“The Treasury and commercial secretaries are permitted to develop budget-neutral strategies to acquire additional Bitcoin, provided that these strategies do not have incremental costs for US taxpayers,” Sachs said.
Non-vitocoin stockpile assets become the codes that the government lists. Sacks did not highlight any particular asset names in that category, despite being recently named by the president.
The executive order does not necessarily have the same legal powers as Congressional Act, so it remains unclear how the Trump administration will approach the details of the order that had not yet been made public on Thursday night. It is also unclear what the total value of current US crypto holdings is.
Market reaction
Bitcoin fell nearly 5% to $85,000 in the minutes after ordering. Perhaps disappointed, the reserve is already made up of tokens held by the government, but for now it does not include new purchases.
Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SoL) are 4%-8% lower in the last hour.
The executive order was announced on the eve of the White House Industrial Summit. The summit is set to lead the entire cryptography spectrum to discuss policy issues with members of the Trump administration. The president was expected to release details of the crypto reserve before or during the event.
“Establishing a US strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital assets stockpile is a huge moment for both crypto and American leadership at the global stage,” said Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of Anchorage Digital, one of the business leaders taking part in the roundtable.
Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitise Asset Management, said in the article that the move to establish a Bitcoin Reside reduces the chances of governments trying to outlaw assets and “dramatically increase the likelihood that other countries will establish strategic Bitcoin reserves.”
But Charles Edwards, founder of Bitcoin-centric hedge fund Capriol Investment, calls it “the most overwhelming and disappointing result we could have hoped for this week,” claiming that without a purchase plan, the strategy is a “lipstick pig.”
Update (March 7, 2025, 24:59 UTC): Add responses from people in the industry along with price action.
Update (March 7, 2025, 01:39 UTC): Add a comment from Anchorage Digital CEO.
