The long-rumored news of the national strategic reserve of Bitcoin has finally come to fruition. On March 7, David Sacks, the White House cryptocurrency director, said on X that US President Trump had signed an executive order to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve that day. The reserve will be composed of Bitcoin confiscated by the federal government and will not increase the burden on taxpayers.
After the announcement, the price of BTC plummeted from over $90,000 to around $84,000. As of the time of writing, it has rebounded to over $87,000, a 24-hour drop of 4.5%. The sharp market fluctuations reflect the serious differences on the policy.
A few are pessimistic, but most are optimistic
In the executive order signed by Trump, the strategic Bitcoin reserve funds will come from the Bitcoins (currently about 200,000) obtained by the federal government through criminal or civil asset forfeiture procedures, and no taxpayer funds will be involved. These Bitcoins will be regarded as a store of value and promised not to be sold. In addition, the order also established the U.S. Digital Asset Reserve to store confiscated digital assets other than Bitcoin, which are expected to include ETH, SOL, XRP and ADA, but the government will not actively purchase these assets.
In this regard, market sentiment is divided. Some investors believe that the reserve only obtains Bitcoin through the confiscation process, and does not directly mobilize fiscal funds to inject into the market. This is very different from the previous strategic reserve concept of "purchasing 1 million BTC within 5 years". Not only did it fail to stimulate BTC buying, but it further compressed the imagination space of "US government policy benefits", and they are pessimistic about the future market trend.
However, most of the industry is optimistic, believing that the executive order signed by Trump is undoubtedly an important confirmation of Bitcoin's asset level. Bitcoin has been included in the US strategic reserves, alongside traditional strategic resources such as oil and gold, which essentially issued a "national credit endorsement" for cryptocurrencies, marking a fundamental leap in its asset level, and its value will also usher in a historic revaluation. More importantly, the policy demonstration effect, the United States as a world vane, more and more countries will begin to discuss similar mechanisms, which will trigger a BTC reserve boom.
In addition, the "only store and not sell" mechanism in the reserve system is equivalent to locking up part of the circulation supply - the US government currently holds about 200,000 bitcoins, accounting for 1% of the total circulation, which may form long-term liquidity support.
Focus on tonight's White House Crypto Summit
As the strategic Bitcoin reserve policy caused market turmoil, the White House will hold the first crypto summit at 3 a.m. tonight. The summit brings together many crypto industry leaders and is of high standard. It is nicknamed "American version of private entrepreneurs' symposium" by the industry and has become a key window for observing US crypto policies.
Industry insiders generally believe that in addition to more discussions on the strategic reserve of Bitcoin, this summit is more likely to make major announcements on new digital asset tax rules, stablecoin legislation, and the top-level design of the industry's overall regulatory framework. These may have a far-reaching impact on the crypto asset industry. More details will be announced during the summit and deserve close attention.
However, it should be noted that the current US economy is facing the risk of recession, and Trump's tariff policy is erratic. These macroeconomic uncertainties have made market sentiment sensitive and fragile, putting US stocks and crypto assets under continued pressure. In this context, the market is full of expectations for the policies of the White House Crypto Summit, but it is also necessary to be vigilant that any news that fails to meet market expectations may become the fuse that triggers a new round of market fluctuations.
