President Donald Trump just confirmed that Bitcoin and Ethereum will be part of the U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve.
The announcement came minutes after his initial post on Truth Social, where he only named Solana (SOL), Ripple’s XRP, and Cardano’s ADA. Trump said:
“And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable cryptocurrencies, will be at the heart of the Reserve. I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum!”
Crypto traders react as Trump’s statement triggers price surge
The announcement came as crypto markets struggled with weeks of selling pressure, brought by macroeconomic factors and regulatory uncertainty.
But after the announcement, Bitcoin rose 5.5% to over $90,000, while Solana surged 19% to $169.71. Cardano exploded 50% to cross $1, and XRP climbed nearly 28% to $2.70.
Investors who had been waiting for regulatory clarity took Trump’s words as a bullish signal. Many traders had been growing impatient with the Trump administration’s slow progress on the crypto-friendly policies promised on the campaign trail.
But his statement has now changed everything. “A U.S. Crypto Reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks by the Biden Administration, which is why my Executive Order on Digital Assets directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve. I will make sure the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World. We are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” said Trump in his first post.
The crypto market had been dealing with a major liquidity crisis after the massive $1.5 billion hack on Bybit, carried out by North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Bitcoin had crashed from $97,000 to below $80,000 in a matter of two days, dragging the rest of the market with it.
Adding to the instability, Trump’s trade war and escalating tensions with Ukraine had already put pressure on global markets. The Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 7%, and the U.S. Treasury market saw a surge in demand, and since Bitcoin often moves in the same direction as high-risk assets, the overall market downturn contributed to the slump.
And February saw the largest single-month withdrawal of capital from spot Bitcoin ETFs, with $3.3 billion in outflows, according to data from Farside UK.
According to Bitwise analysts, this was partly driven by the unwinding of a popular crypto arbitrage strategy known as the cash-and-carry trade, which is buying spot Bitcoin and shorting futures to capture price discrepancies. But as Bitcoin prices fell, traders rushed to close their positions.
Bitcoin futures traders were also hesitant to take new positions. Annualized March futures premiums fell to 5.7%, according to a K33 Research report on February 25.
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