Trump unveils 'digital Fort Knox'

US President Donald Trump has directed the Treasury to overhaul the management of cryptocurrencies owned by the federal government.. source:TROIB RTS

Trump unveils 'digital Fort Knox'
The US Treasury is set to create a "strategic reserve" for cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin.

US President Donald Trump has introduced new frameworks for managing federal government cryptocurrency assets.

In a presidential executive order issued on Thursday, a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a US Digital Asset Stockpile were established, both overseen by the Treasury, with a focus on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The administration views these digital assets, particularly Bitcoin, as stable stores of value that are expected to increase in value over time due to their inherent scarcity.

“The reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold’,” said White House crypto tsar David Sacks, who estimated that the government currently holds around 200,000 bitcoins valued at over $17 billion. He noted that in the past, the US sold approximately 195,000 bitcoins for just $366 million, representing a substantial financial loss for taxpayers.

The government's cryptocurrency holdings primarily stem from criminal or civil asset forfeitures. Trump has directed the Treasury secretary to look into "budget neutral" methods for acquiring additional bitcoins, though this directive does not include other digital assets.

However, this policy change does not entail active purchasing of cryptocurrencies, something that several industry insiders had hoped for. Charles Edwards, founder of Bitcoin-focused hedge fund Capriole Investments, labeled the decision as “the most underwhelming and disappointing outcome we could have expected,” arguing that the absence of an active purchasing strategy simply rebrands existing government holdings.

Sacks maintained that Trump’s initiatives are in line with his campaign promise to position the US as the “crypto capital of the world” by fostering innovative digital financial tools.

Camille Lefevre for TROIB News

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