47th President of the USA Donald Trump on January 23 ordered the creation of a digital assets task force, which among other things will investigate the possibility of creating a strategic cryptocurrency reserve in the USA. It must provide a report with criteria for such a reserve by July of this year. Trump’s decree does not contain specifics regarding the structure or scale of such a reserve. The working group was tasked with assessing the possibility of forming a reserve from cryptocurrencies confiscated as a result of law enforcement activities. In addition, Trump banned the introduction of central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
A strategic reserve is a stock of critically important resources that can be used during periods of crisis or supply disruptions. The most famous example is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve of the USA, the world’s largest emergency oil stockpile, created by Congress in 1975 after the 1973-1974 oil crisis.
Besides oil, some countries have strategic reserves of other resources: Canada stores maple syrup, and China — metals, grains, and even pork.
According to data from bitcointreasuries.net, currently, confiscated crypto assets include about 200,000 bitcoins worth approximately $21 billion at market prices. However, legal details regarding the transfer of these assets from the jurisdiction of the Justice Department remain unknown.
Trump did not announce whether the government plans to additionally purchase bitcoins on the open market, and the decree does not contain specific instructions on this matter.
The clearest proposal regarding the bitcoin reserve in Washington came from Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, who owns five bitcoins herself. In July, she introduced the bill BITCOIN Act of 2024, which envisages the creation of a reserve of 1 million bitcoins under the management of the Treasury Department. According to the project, the department would annually purchase 200,000 bitcoins over five years. After that, the reserve would constitute approximately 5% of the global bitcoin supply, which is limited to 21 million. Purchases would be financed from the profits of the Federal Reserve System and gold reserves. The bitcoin reserve would be maintained for at least 20 years.
Honored to chair the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets. pic.twitter.com/mWj2hKA0NQ
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) January 23, 2025
Later, rumors appeared that the national reserve will not be limited to bitcoins, and they want to include such cryptocurrencies as Solana (SOL), USD Coin (USDC) and Ripple (XRP).
Proponents believe that thanks to the accumulation of bitcoins, which, in their opinion, have a long-term trend toward increased value, the USA could reduce its budget deficit without raising taxes and strengthen the dollar. A strong dollar, in turn, could give the USA more leverage over such rivals as China and Russia.
Senator Lummis noted that her plan would allow cutting the US national debt in half over 20 years.
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