US Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Will Be Filled Only With Bitcoin, Trump Decides

By the end of the week, US President Donald Trump signed the promised decree on the formation of a strategic cryptocurrency reserve. It will be replenished with bitcoins, while a separately formed reserve of digital assets will be able to be replenished with other cryptocurrencies. This decision by the US authorities singles out bitcoin from a number of other cryptocurrencies and carries a certain signal for financial markets.

Image source: Unsplash, Kanchanara

The US government’s policy framework for handling the cryptocurrency reserve will be formed by the Treasury and Trade Ministries, but for now it is only known that Donald Trump’s decree will establish cryptocurrency assets confiscated on legal grounds as sources for replenishing the Bitcoin strategic reserve. The US government is not going to sell the Bitcoins placed in the reserve, nor is it going to buy them, so taxpayers should not be particularly concerned about this innovation. The reserve will be managed by the US Treasury Department.

It is estimated that the US government currently owns around 200,000 bitcoins, although no thorough audit has been conducted in this area. The digital asset reserve, which will contain other cryptocurrencies received by the government, will be a separate fund that will not overlap with the strategic reserve. Several years ago, El Salvador recognized bitcoin as an official currency, and although the US government is still a long way from such steps, the formation of a strategic reserve of relevant digital assets will contribute to the wider recognition of bitcoin by monetary authorities of other countries.