
On March 7, 2025, at 00:34 CET, David Sacks, Trump’s AI and Crypto Czar, announced that President Donald Trump has just signed an executive order to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve. This historic moment, confirmed via an X-post from Sacks, marks a turning point in the American embrace of cryptocurrency. What does this mean, and how does it fit into the broader context of the White House Crypto Summit?
The reserve will be funded with Bitcoin already owned by the federal government – approximately 200,000 BTC ($17.5 billion at $87,596/BTC), largely seized through criminal and civil proceedings. Sacks reported:
“Just a few minutes ago, President Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve […] This does not cost the taxpayer a cent.”
In addition, the order establishes an American Digital Asset Stockpile, which includes other seized crypto assets, in addition to Bitcoin.
This aligns with Bloomberg’s earlier report that Trump would announce a reserve during the summit (March 7, 1:30-5:30 PM ET), possibly with forfeited assets. Sacks called it “a digital Fort Knox” and assured that the US will not sell BTC from the reserve – a break with the traditional auctions of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Trump’s post on Truth Social (March 2) named BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA as reserve candidates, which caused altcoin prices to explode (XRP +34%, SOL +22%). Now the order makes it clear that BTC forms the core, funded with existing holdings, while a broader “digital asset stockpile” can include altcoins.