White House: Bitcoin ‘Deserves Special Treatment’ Over XRP, Solana, Cardano in Crypto Reserve

A senior White House official told Decrypt that President Donald Trump created a strategic reserve exclusively for Bitcoin on Thursday because the president’s administration views the cryptocurrency as belonging to a league of its own. 

“Bitcoin is special in our view,” the senior White House official said. “It’s the most secure. It’s the most decentralized. It doesn’t have an issuer. So it deserves special treatment.”

In signing an executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Trump also established a federal Digital Asset Stockpile, which will include various other cryptocurrencies seized by the U.S. government “in connection with criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.”

Trump stated on Sunday that such a stockpile would specifically feature XRP, Solana, and Cardano, sending market prices for those assets flying. It’s currently unclear if the U.S. government is in possession of any of these assets that it may have gained from prior criminal proceedings. U.S. government crypto wallets identified by blockchain intelligence firm Arkham currently hold zero XRP, SOL, or ADA. 

When asked by Decrypt whether this means the crypto stockpile may not feature XRP, SOL, or ADA after all, the White House official deflected, saying the U.S. government does not yet have a full accounting of which digital assets it holds and in what amounts.

“We have to go see what the federal government actually owns,” the official said. “They’ve never done an audit before. I think that’s the place to start.”

The official elaborated that while the nearly 200,000 Bitcoin believed to be in the U.S. government’s possession will be held indefinitely with the aim of generating “long term value,” the U.S. Treasury secretary will have the authority to sell off any altcoins in the Digital Assets Stockpile if they “decided that was the best strategy.”

The official also teased the agenda for this afternoon’s first ever White House Crypto Summit, which will put various industry leaders in dialogue with senior government officials. No tax-related issues will be discussed; the emphasis will instead be primarily on dismantling Biden-era, anti-crypto regulations.