- Trump announced a Bitcoin reserve using confiscated assets, with no taxpayer cost.
- Market reaction was negative as investors expected new BTC purchases, causing a 3.4% drop.
- The meeting hinted at clearer crypto regulations, raising hopes for ETF approvals.
Donald Trump invited a special gathering at the White House, featuring prominent players in the cryptocurrency space. The function was about his proposal to establish a government-owned reserve of Bitcoin.
Major players like Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy, Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were present on the Bitcoin reserves meeting.
Government’s Bitcoin Reserve
Trump also invited legislators and officials to hear how the U.S. government could own Bitcoin without using taxpayer funds. His executive order, signed a day before the meeting, assured that the reserve would be constructed with Bitcoin confiscated in criminal or civil proceedings.
The Bitcoin Reserve order mentioned adding other digital assets but did not explain how they would be managed.
There were some investors who had expected the government to buy fresh Bitcoin, and that did not happen. This led to market disappointment, and Bitcoin declined by 3.4%. While some appreciated the move by the government to partner with crypto firms, others were apprehensive about incorporating cryptocurrencies like XRP, Solana, and Cardano into the reserve.
Critics believe that Bitcoin must be the only asset in the reserve as other cryptocurrencies are volatile and work differently. Trump was bullish on Bitcoin and stated that the government would never sell the Bitcoin His “keep it forever” statement was a reference to a popular phrase used in the crypto community.
Stablecoins and Regulatory Developments
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also addressed the gathering, reiterating that the U.S. would keep using the dollar as the world’s reserve currency while looking into stablecoins for future financial plans.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse defended Trump’s acknowledgement of other cryptos aside from Bitcoin, since XRP was among the coins that were up for consideration for the Bitcoin reserve.
The meeting also encouraged optimism about more transparent regulations in the crypto market. Experts are confident that a well-defined regulatory framework would allow more crypto-related financial products, such as exchange-traded funds, to be approved.
Trump has been directly engaged in the crypto sphere, with his relatives launching meme coins and owning interests in World Liberty Financial, a crypto company of his own. This has created controversy over potential conflicts of interest.
His team said others now handle his business, and ethics lawyers are reviewing it. Still, many see this meeting as a major step for crypto adoption.
