President Trump's latest crypto reserve announcement sparked jubilation from some corners of the industry while others were disappointed, hoping for further details ahead of Friday's Crypto Summit at the White House.

Late Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order to establish a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, hailed by crypto czar David Sacks as a "historic moment." The bitcoin reserve would be established from the approximate 200,000 BTC ($18 billion) already owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil proceedings. However, Trump also directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided that those strategies have no incremental costs to American taxpayers.

The executive order also establishes a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile consisting of cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. However, the government will not acquire additional assets for the stockpile beyond those obtained through forfeiture proceedings. Last Sunday, President Trump announced plans to move forward with a U.S. crypto strategic reserve that included XRP, SOL and ADA alongside BTC and ETH.

The words "reserve" and "stockpile" have been used interchangeably over the past few months, sparking some confusion. Commenting on the difference between the bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile, CoinCorner CEO Danny Scott told The Block that the U.S. government had separated bitcoin from other cryptocurrencies.

"Not only have they confirmed they can buy more bitcoin, but they also cannot sell it. In contrast, with other cryptocurrencies, they can sell but cannot buy more," he said. "This is massively positive for bitcoin, marking a significant step toward global differentiation — something that many in the Bitcoin industry have been advocating for years. The only way other cryptocurrencies will be added to the Digital Asset Stockpile is through forfeiture."

"Establishing a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile is a huge moment for both crypto and American leadership on the global stage, Anchorage Digital co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley, one of the Crypto Summit's attendees, told The Block. "By holding bitcoin and other digital assets for the long term, the White House is taking a future-forward approach to bolstering American economic competitiveness — not just for the decade ahead, but for the next century. Where the U.S. leads, others follow. Expect this move to catalyze crypto adoption among more governments and institutions around the world."

"I’ve heard from bitcoin whales from all over the world tonight. Absolute jubilation. The admin nailed it," Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey, a key player in Trump's bitcoin campaign pledges, said. "When the history books are written, this will prove to be the single most important monetary policy decision since Bretton Woods. I look forward to learning more tomorrow." he added.

"This will be printed out and placed on the desk of every national leader, central bank head and finance minister in the world tomorrow," Bitcoin Policy Institute Executive Director Matthew Pines said.

Referring to a section of the executive order text, which states that due to the fixed supply of bitcoin, there is a "strategic advantage" to being among the first nations to create a bitcoin reserve, Castle Island Ventures founding partner Nic Carter said it was a "surreal" moment.

Carter has been a staunch critic of a strategic bitcoin reserve, arguing it would undermine, not support, the U.S. dollar, be politically "imprudent" and fresh bitcoin purchases would alienate the public. However, he favored a stockpile that didn't sell seized bitcoin, stating on Thursday that President Trump's executive order "couldn't have gone better." Carter noted that Trump had kept his campaign promise while clearly distinguishing the bitcoin reserve from an altcoin stockpile, with bitcoin getting an "official U.S. government seal of approval" that no other cryptocurrency does. No taxpayer dollars would be spent to acquire more bitcoin, meaning no backlash and any future acquisitions would likely be left to Congress, "as it should be," he said.

"This changes everything," Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen said, suggesting the move would lead to other countries following suit, with wealth managers, financial institutions, pensions and endowments having no excuse not to allocate. He also echoed the views of Coinbase director Conor Grogan that $18 billion of feared sell pressure was now gone.

"The U.S. now has the world’s largest Strategic Bitcoin Reserve," Strategy co-founder and bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor cheered, while The ETF Store President Nate Geraci noted the industry's swift transformation from no spot Bitcoin ETF to Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in just over a year.

Acquiring more bitcoin or not, that is the question

Following President Trump's Sunday announcement, questions remained over how such a reserve would be funded and how likely it is to be enacted, with Federal Reserve and Treasury Department options both likely to require new legislation to be passed by Congress.

In a note to clients on Thursday, TD Cowen Managing Director Jaret Seiberg argued that while the news was positive for the industry, it amounted to a compromise: the government would not spend taxpayer dollars to acquire new digital assets, simply not selling those it seizes.

"We are dubious that the government will be acquiring additional bitcoin for the reserve despite the President's instructions as we believe it will be politically tough to show how purchases are budget neutral and do not impose incremental costs on taxpayers," he said.

Some have suggested that the U.S. Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund, which manages foreign currencies and gold, could be an option as it operates under executive control.

"There is a legal path for the President to acquire bitcoin via executive order, as @btcpolicyorg drafted last November, using the Exchange Stabilization Fund," Bitcoin Policy Institute's Pines posted on X. "There are currently around $40 billion in surplus USD sitting in the ESF. The Treasury Secretary can legally leverage the 1934 Gold Reserve Act (as amended in 1977 via PL 95-147) — which authorizes the ESF to "deal in....instruments of credit" — to purchase bitcoin via a debt obligation repayable in BTC from a qualified counterparty."

"This would be budget-neutral and wouldn’t require Congressional approval," Bitcoin Policy Institute co-President David Zell added.

However, its mandate is primarily for foreign exchange and financial stability, so using it for a crypto reserve could face legal and political challenges. Others have noted that Congress could later intervene or restrict such actions through legislation if deemed outside the ESF's intended remit.

Earlier this year, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a key proponent of a strategic bitcoin reserve who introduced a draft bill last July, said, "We wouldn't have to spend any new dollars. We have reserves at our 12 federal reserve banks, including gold certificates that could be converted and then sold into bitcoin."

"USG sells some of its existing assets. Then buys bitcoin with the proceeds," Pines responded to critics. "Why is this hard to understand?"

'Underwhelming and disappointing'

Regardless, many remained unimpressed.

"This is the most underwhelming and disappointing outcome we could have expected for this week," Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards said. "But also not surprising. Looks like no tangible BSR in 2025. No active buying means this is just a fancy title for bitcoin holdings that already existed with the government. This is a pig in lipstick."

Responding to pushback that U.S. government holding was better than selling seized crypto assets, Edwards acknowledged that but argued the market was pricing in some chance of active buying in 2025, the probability of which had now "cratered."

Bitcoin dropped around 5% following the news on Friday, falling to below $85,000 again at one point before recovering. The leading cryptocurrency was trading for $89,742 at press time, according to The Block's Bitcoin Price page.

"Bitcoin sold off on Bitcoin ETFs launching and then went on to a new all-time high. Traders gonna trade," Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley noted.

However, the community shouldn't be disappointed that there are no active buys, according to CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill, who argued that initiating the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is a massive step forward in legitimacy for the asset regardless.

Meanwhile, economist and crypto trader Alex Krüger said the news was very bullish long-term, emphasizing that under federal asset forfeiture laws, the government was obliged to sell the seized bitcoin eventually, and that is no longer the case.

"Fingers crossed this is just the start of it and we get some more promising news tomorrow... but the likelihood has fallen,". Edwards added.

White House Crypto Summit

All eyes now turn to the inaugural White House Crypto Summit later on Friday. Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi and Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov are among the industry leaders slated to attend.

Speculation is growing over potential debanking and tax announcements related to crypto during the event, according to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, a statement Sacks described as "accurate."

"[The] market not pricing in the small chance of Trump announcing favorable capital gains tax for crypto," Bitwise Head of Alpha Strategies Jeff Park said. "[That] would convert all ITM [in-the-money] selling behavior into a permanent holding pattern, allowing market to structurally pump whether it even happens or not in the near future. Better than a strategic reserve."

A successful summit could see bitcoin reclaim $100,000 and assets like ETH, XRP and SOL soar, cementing U.S. leadership in global crypto markets, Bitget Research Chief Analyst Ryan Lee told The Block. "Conversely, a lack of actionable steps might disappoint investors, underscoring the high stakes of this event."

The roundtable is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 p.m. ET, with President Trump reportedly planning to sign further executive orders at 2:30 p.m. and deliver remarks at 3 p.m.

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