Promises made, promises kept

Trump and macro dominated the week. On Sunday night, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would "move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA." In a follow-up post he belatedly brought up Bitcoin and Ethereum. Crypto assets immediately pumped on the news, especially the assets that received a surprise mention: XRP, SOL, and ADA. A trader on decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid reportedly profited over $1.6 million by taking a 50x leveraged long position on BTC and ETH ahead of announcement. Despicable insider trading that is unfortunately endemic in crypto.

The next day, the S&P500 dipped as much as 3%, causing every asset except for ADA to close lower than before the Sunday pump. Bitcoin has since moved up a bit, while the others remained flat. Then on Thursday Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). As if to prove a point to people not convinced that markets are often irrational in the short term, the price of bitcoin promptly dropped. Bravo!

To be fair to the fickle markets, there were a number of factors that contributed to the decline. The S&P500 was down 1.9% on the day, over 4.5% since Monday. The SBR, while historic in nature, wasn't as good as it could've been. Unlike the aspirational bill being pushed by Senator Lummis, the current SBR won't be using taxpayer funds to buy bitcoin.

The Executive Order also established a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile (DAS), consisting of digital assets other than bitcoin forfeited in criminal or civil proceedings. To make it clear, the reserve will contain only Bitcoin, while the DAS is for all the other riff-raff. Both will be initially capitalized from assets forfeited to the government through criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.

Aside from the asset composition, the key differences between the two are: 1) the reserve will actively try to acquire more bitcoin and has a policy of not selling, while the stockpile will not seek to acquire

The overall reaction on CT to Trump's EO has been tepid, no doubt due to the price action. The price of bitcoin looks to be beholden in the short term to macro considerations. However, over time I think the will be recognized as the historical event it is. I think it's likely that this will be remembered as the official beginning of the arms race for nations to hold bitcoin.

-David Sencil

Sponsored by Bitcoin.com

Join the Bitcoin.com Crew as they opine on the hottest narratives shaping the Bitcoin and cryptoverse!

🎥 Watch Episode

News

Trump Signs Order Establishing 'Digital Fort Knox' Bitcoin Reserve Funded by Seized Assets

President Donald Trump enacted an executive directive on Thursday, instructing federal agencies to launch.… read more.

Editor's comment: Despite the initial market sell-off following the announcement, this can only be interpreted as long term bullish news.

XRP Price Watch: Bulls Eye $3 and Higher as Support Holds at $2.55

On Monday, March 3, 2025, XRP has been trading between $2.57 and $2.61 over the last hour, with a market… read more.

Editor's comment: Pay attention to support ($2.5) and breakout level ($3.0).

Pornstar Shoots Armed Robbers Who Were After Her $20M Bitcoin Fortune

The adult actress claims she was suddenly dragged out of bed and violently pistol-whipped before shooting… read more.

Editor's comment: This is a story with a salacious tinge, but an important takeaway: do not disclose to people, especially strangers, that you own (a lot of) crypto.

Whale Nets $1.6M Profit With 50x Leverage

A cryptocurrency trader reportedly earned over $1.6 million in profits by taking a highly leveraged 50x… read more.

Editor's comment: It is always frustrating to see the blatant insider trading endemic in crypto.

ETH Denver: What Really Happened

Twenty-five thousand enthusiastic fans from all over the world converged on the Mile High City last week… read more.

Editor's comment: The embattled cryptocurrency was reflected in the Ethereum-centric conference.

🗞️ Read more news