President Donald Trump’s announcement of a US crypto strategic reserve, comprising a basket of digital assets, has stirred debate among industry leaders. Many argue that Bitcoin (BTC) should be the sole reserve asset.
This debate follows Trump’s executive order on digital assets, which directed the Presidential Working Group to establish the reserve.
A Divisive Selection? Experts Debate Trump’s US Crypto Reserve
According to the official announcement, the proposed crypto reserve would include Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and other digital assets. The initiative aims to strengthen the US as a global leader in crypto.
Notably, the announcement triggered a substantial rally for the coins. Yet, experts remain sharply divided over the choice of assets included in the reserve.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, commented on Trump’s strategic crypto reserve plan. In the latest post on X (formerly Twitter), he shared his thoughts on asset allocation.
“Just Bitcoin would probably be the best option – simplest, and clear story as successor to gold,” the post read.
Nonetheless, if diversification is necessary, he suggested using a market cap-weighted index of crypto assets to ensure neutrality. Despite considering both options, Armstrong emphasized that a Bitcoin-only reserve would be the easiest path forward.
Investor and author Fred Krueger also supported a market-weighted approach for the proposed crypto reserve.
“The Strategic Crypto Reserve should be Market Weighted, like the SP500,” he stated.
He outlined a suggested allocation, excluding foreign assets and stablecoins, with Bitcoin at 75%, followed by Ethereum at 12.4%, XRP at 5.7%, Solana at 3.1%, Dogecoin (DOGE) at 1.4%, and Cardano at 1.0%. Smaller allocations were designated for Litecoin (LTC), Avalanche (AVAX), Polkadot (DOT), and Cosmos (ATOM).
Meanwhile, many in the crypto community voiced disappointment. Jeff Park, head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise, was among those advocating for a Bitcoin-only reserve.
“Huge political miscalculation by Trump in underestimating just how crucial it was for the Strategic Reserve to focus solely on Bitcoin,” Park posted.
He warned that including altcoins with unclear national significance risks perceptions of insider dealing, even if unfounded. Park also noted that while Bitcoin should be the only strategic reserve asset, broader crypto adoption can still be supported from an investment perspective.
Even long-time Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff acknowledged the logic behind a BTC reserve. Despite his disagreement, he compared it to the gold reserve, recognizing Bitcoin as “digital gold.” However, he criticized the inclusion of XRP, questioning its necessity in the crypto reserve.
“But what’s the rationale for an XRP reserve? Why the hell would we need that?” Schiff remarked.
Alex Xu, a research partner at Mint Ventures, argued that Trump made a politically motivated decision to reward projects that financially backed him. He called the move an “advertising slot” within Trump’s presidential powers.
“However, in the long run, pushing assets like ADA and XRP as reserve holdings is absurd. It undermines the legitimacy of BTC as a strategic reserve and further reduces the chances of passing a BTC reserve bill at the federal level,” he said.
He also pointed to the Republicans’ narrow House majority. Therefore, he suggested that this makes it unlikely that legislation including SOL, ADA, and XRP in national reserves would pass.
Xu suggested the only feasible option would be a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the Treasury. This would allow Trump to buy these assets without congressional approval.
“But how likely is that? How much would SOL, XRP, and ADA need to funnel into Trump’s circle for him to issue an executive order using taxpayer money to buy them? Trump’s style is about making big headlines with minimal effort. He won’t invest heavily or take on major risks without significant personal gain,” he questioned.
Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX, took a more critical stand and dismissed Trump’s crypto reserve proposal as rhetoric.
“Nothing new here. Just words,” he claimed.
He argued that without congressional approval to borrow funds or revalue gold, the government lacks the resources to buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
However, not everyone is criticizing Trump’s decision to include altcoin in this reserve. Grayscale Investment’s CEO has applauded the decision.
“We are excited to see the proposed investment in digital assets by the US Government. Grayscale currently operates the only publicly traded investment vehicle in the US that holds the exact same assets included in the recently announced U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve. Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund (ticker: GDLC) is an index fund that has been operating for over seven years with the support of the CoinDesk Index team, currently trades under ticker GDLC, and was most recently priced at a discount of over 10% compared to the fair value of its holdings, Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano,” Peter Mintzberg, CEO of Grayscale Investments, told BeInCrypto.
Overall, the industry remains divided. Although crypto leaders unarguably agree that a US reserve is a major positive development for the industry, the inclusion of altcoins might impact its chances for congressional approval.
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