Bitcoin Slides After Trump Signs Strategic Reserve Executive Order

Bitcoin and other top altcoins like ADA and Ripple’s XRP surged in price minutes after US President Trump issued a statement on a crypto strategic reserve. After languishing below $85k for days, Bitcoin climbed past $90k last Monday and briefly flirted with the $95k level. 

However, crypto’s hot streak was brief, making Trump’s latest statement a “sell on news” event. From $94,770 on March 3, Bitcoin dipped to as low as $82,681 on March 4. Leading altcoins also slumped with BTC, creating a ripple effect across the broader crypto industry. Today, Bitcoin is trading wildly between $84k and $91k, more than 10k below its all-time high.

Bitcoin gradually recovered from a low of $83,000 last week and bounced back to $92k days before the planned White House Crypto Summit this Friday, March 7th.

Trump’s latest pronouncement did not specify how the reserve shall be funded beyond what was already included in the US’ crypto holdings. Instead of clarity, the statement was just a commitment to retain crypto holdings, with no specifics on funding.

The president’s disclosure on a possible stockpile spurred conversations and debates among analysts and critics. Many crypto holders and supporters backed the possible inclusion of SOL, XRP, and ADA. 

Stock broker and financial commentator Peter Schiff shared his thoughts on the plan, saying the US government should limit the assets included in the pile. He specifically identified “seized assets”, so the government should not buy additional SOL, ADA, XRP, and ETH.

As Bitcoin and other leading altcoins struggle, other crypto personalities publicly announce their support for the project. For example, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich argued that even though BTC is retreating, there’s no denying the importance of Trump’s latest executive order. 

Gerovich stated that this new order authorizes the Secretaries of Commerce and Treasury to draft a strategy for buying Bitcoin without burdening American taxpayers. He stated that the order is more aggressive and provides a plan for acquiring more crypto without affecting the national budget.

Gerovich further explains that there are two ways the US government can acquire Bitcoins and set up a strategic stockpile:

One, Trump can exercise his presidential power by using the Exchange Stabilization Fund, which has $39 billion in assets.

Two, the president can rely on Congressional approval. The second option is in line with Senator Lummis’ Bitcoin Bill, where the US government will acquire 200k Bitcoins annually for five years.

Lummis was one of the first personalities to comment on the latest EO. The senator mentioned that the latest order was just the beginning, and encouraged Congress to pass the Bitcoin bill.

Crypto law expert MetaLawman also joined the conversations, supporting the Lummis plan by referencing the bill’s Section 5(a)(1)(A) which authorizes the US Treasury to buy 1 million Bitcoins in five years.

Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView