The United States will have a “strategic reserve” of cryptocurrencies, following a recent decree by President Donald Trump.
“I will ensure that the U.S. becomes the crypto capital of the world,” wrote the U.S. president on his social media. His officials have referred to this new reserve as a “digital Fort Knox,” in reference to the U.S. Army military base that has stored a large part of the country’s gold reserves and those of other nations that have entrusted their gold to the U.S. government since 1937.
But beyond the grand announcements, there are not too many details. Thus, in practice, it is unclear how it will work or how it would benefit Americans, apart from the fact that, with this decree, Trump seeks to know the exact volume of cryptocurrencies in federal hands to deposit them into this reserve, which will be controlled by the Department of the Treasury.
This new reserve mainly contemplates #bitcoin, the strongest digital currency currently, with a value close to US$ 83,000 per unit, although the price can vary quite a bit. According to the White House's “czar” for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, David Sacks, it will be capitalized with #bitcoins owned by the federal government that were seized in operations against criminal activities. “This means it will not cost taxpayers a dime,” he assured. In addition to #bitcoin, it is expected that this reserve will include more cryptocurrencies, such as #Ethereum , #XRP , #SOL , and #ADA. .
However, following Trump's announcement, both #bitcoin and other digital assets have suffered declines that, according to some analysts, are explained by investor disappointment upon learning that this new reserve does not contemplate new investments.
For those who support this measure, a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies could contribute to financial stability by diversifying the national reserves of the U.S., beyond traditional assets like gold and foreign currencies. They add that it could also help legitimize cryptocurrencies and encourage more financial institutions to accept them. However, many still distrust cryptocurrencies due to their volatility and decentralization. “This new reserve will support the economic security of the country in case of an economic crisis, with assets that have value such as cryptocurrencies or gold. It will help the country overcome economic crises and also support the dollar in case of a severe devaluation,” pointed out Paolo Fidanza, CEO of Keo World and fintech expert.
“Bitcoin has all the competencies to be the most important store of value in the world,” explained Rodolfo Andragnes, founder of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina. “It is divisible, has scarcity (the code only allows for 21 million bitcoins), and is portable,” he listed.
“No one can change the rules of the game of this economic system,” added Santiago Siri, Argentine programmer and founder of Democracy Earth Foundation. “This has made it, in the eyes of investors, seen as digital gold, as a reserve and long-term savings instrument that works for both individuals and national states,” he added.
However, so far, central banks around the world maintain large reserves of dollars and gold. El Salvador has been the only nation to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, in 2021, and although it reversed that measure weeks ago amid negotiations for a loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country retains national reserves in that asset. At the end of last year, President Nayib Bukele celebrated when the crypto reached a value of US$ 100,000. Although that record price did not hold, a good portion of El Salvador's bitcoins were bought at a price of US$ 51,000.
But beyond the solitary Salvadoran experience, Argentina is the main user of cryptocurrencies in Latin America: of every 10 people who have opened a crypto app in the region, four are from that country. In addition, transactions recorded values exceeding US$ 91.1 billion, according to data from the 2024 Crypto Industry State report prepared by Lemon. For now, the government of President Javier Milei has not spoken about advancing a cryptocurrency reserve and it does not seem like the most appropriate time to do so, following the scandal it suffered with the cryptocurrency $Libra.
We will have to see if other countries decide to copy the U.S. experience. “Upon hearing Trump's announcement to include cryptocurrencies in their strategic reserves, surely many other world leaders will want to copy it,” said Fidanza, although he clarified: “It will depend, in any case, on the legislation of each country to see if they can adopt cryptocurrencies as part of their strategic reserves.”
