President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to create a government reserve of bitcoin along with a “digital asset stockpile” in the administration’s latest embrace of the cryptocurrency industry.
According to the order, the U.S. government will use the bitcoin already seized by federal law enforcement while disrupting financial crimes to establish the reserve.
Trump’s crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) czar, David Sacks, emphasized the plan will “not cost taxpayers a dime.”
He noted the U.S. government is estimated to own about 200,000 bitcoins, but no audit has been completed to confirm this number. The order directs a “full accounting” of the government’s digital asset holdings, Sacks said.
“The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value,” Sacks wrote in a post on X. “The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold.'”
The order also establishes a digital asset stockpile, which will consist of digital assets other than bitcoin. Like the reserve, these assets were forfeited in criminal or civil proceedings, Sacks said.
“The government will not acquire additional assets for the stockpile beyond those obtained through forfeiture proceedings,” Sacks wrote. “The purpose of the stockpile is responsible stewardship of the government’s digital assets under the Treasury Department.”
Under the order, the Treasury and Commerce Departments are empowered to “develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin.”
Sacks emphasized these strategies should not have any incremental costs on American taxpayers, a previous concern by some crypto industry figures who feared a reserve could increase taxes for Americans.
The order comes just days after Trump hinted at details for a crypto reserve. The announcement on Sunday was met with a combination of excitement and skepticism.
The president originally suggested the reserve would contain both bitcoin and other digital assets, stoking concerns among some industry players who argued only bitcoin has a proven value. Bitcoin is the oldest and most popular cryptocurrency.
The order appears to try to appease those in the crypto space who advocated for a strictly bitcoin reserve, while making space for other newer digital assets.
Trump, who once called crypto a “scam,” has drastically changed his tune on the subject and promised on the campaign trail to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”
The president has tapped various crypto advocates for Cabinet and administration roles and established a presidential working group of digital asset markets within the White House.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also already appears to be changing its enforcement tactics, putting a pause or stop to several probes into various crypto exchanges that were launched under the Biden administration.
While the reserve is celebrated by many in the space, the prospect of it also created debate among the community earlier this week.
Some in the crypto world told The Hill they do not believe there is a “strategic purpose” for having a crypto or bitcoin reserve and that it cannot be compared to assets like gold or oil.
Thursday night’s signing comes a day ahead of the White House’s first-ever crypto summit, where various industry leaders will gather in Washington.
The event is the culmination of a years-long push by the industry to be taken seriously in Washington after a series of scandals roiled the space’s reputation.
Trump’s support for the industry was quickly seen in the markets after his reelection win sent bitcoin and other assets on a months-long rally.
The market has since cooled off, but typically spikes amid any action or remarks from Washington on the issue. The market surged on Sunday and Monday following Trump’s social media posts about the reserve.
