President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to create a national stockpile of Bitcoin and other digital currencies, an advisor said it was a bold idea that has been widely criticized as a scheme to enrich crypto investors.
The basis of the stockpile is a stash of Bitcoin, estimated to be worth as much as $17 billion, according to a summary of the order posted on social media by David Sachs, White House Crypto and AI Policy City.
The order also calls for federal agencies to develop a “budget neutral strategy” to buy more Bitcoin, the most popular digital currency.
“This executive order underscores President Trump's commitment to making the United States a 'world crypto capital',” Sachs wrote in his post. He said the US does not sell Bitcoin in reserves, compared it to “Digital Fort Knox.”
Since Trump took office in January, his administration has moved rapidly, boosting the crypto industry, a volatile sector that has been fighting federal regulators for many years. The Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped lawsuits against two of the largest US crypto companies and has suspended several other investigations. And on Friday, Trump is scheduled to host Crypto executives at the White House for his first “Crypto Summit.”
Trump has a personal interest in the success of the crypto industry, creating conflicts of interest that has sparked vigilance with government ethics experts. Last year he started World Liberty Financial, a business offering cryptocurrency known as WLFI. A few days before he took office, he began selling so-called memo coins. This is a kind of cryptocurrency tied to online jokes and celebrity figures.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last year, the US crypto sanctuary concept gained traction as Trump embraced the industry on the campaign trail. Supporters argued that investment in Bitcoin would help the government cut its $36 trillion national debt, ensuring the US dominates in a hypothetical future where the global economy is operated on cryptocurrency.
However, skeptics said the plan appears to have been calculated to enrich crypto executives who already own a large amount of Bitcoin by increasing the price of tokens. They argued that it was dangerous to link the country's economic future to highly unstable assets.
At a meeting in Nashville in July, Trump gave a speech to a crowd of Bitcoin enthusiasts and vowed to establish a national stockpile. He intended to double that promise last weekend and post it on social media to create a spare made up of lesser-known cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Solana, Cardano, Ether and XRP.
The plan has attracted criticism from some crypto executives who claimed that Bitcoin is the only asset in the national reserve.
In a summary of the executive order, Sachs wrote that the government will create another stockpile of digital assets other than Bitcoin. However, he said the stash only includes coins acquired in detectives or civilian fits, and the government will not move to buy cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.
Crypto Investors celebrated the announcement on social media, calling it a “historic day” and the country's “massive victory.”
“By holding Bitcoin and other digital assets in the long term, the White House is taking a future approach,” said Nathan McCauley, CEO of Crypto Firm Anchorage Digital, in a statement. “Hopefully this move will catalyze the adoption of crypto among more governments and agencies.”
