Key Takeaways
- • President Donald Trump named five cryptocurrencies for a proposed U.S. government strategic crypto reserve in a Truth Social post on Sunday, March 2, 2025, stating his January executive order on digital assets would create a stockpile of XRP, SOL and ADA, with bitcoin and ether added later the same day, according to Reuters.
- • XRP (Ripple, roughly $140 billion in circulation at about $2.40 per token per CoinGecko), SOL (Solana, about $73 billion, sixth-largest), and ADA (Cardano, about $31.4 billion, eighth-largest) were the three lesser-known tokens Trump selected, and ADA briefly rose more than 70% above its Friday level after the announcement.
- • Bitcoin, at roughly $86,000 per coin and $1.7 trillion in circulating value, and ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, were also named, per Reuters citing CoinGecko data.
- • Ripple, whose CEO Brad Garlinghouse publicly welcomed the plan, has been a major crypto lobbying force, having donated $45 million to a pro-industry lobbying group according to OpenSecrets.
- • World Liberty Financial, a crypto company launched by Trump and his sons, has sold more than $500 million of its Ethereum-based tokens and separately unveiled its own strategic token reserve in February, per Reuters.
Summary
U.S. President Donald Trump has named five cryptocurrencies he wants included in a new strategic reserve, meaning crypto holdings owned by the U.S. government. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, March 2, Trump said his January executive order on digital assets would create a stockpile of XRP, SOL and ADA, a selection that surprised traders and drove up prices of the three lesser-known tokens. Later that day he added bitcoin and ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies, according to Reuters.
XRP, created by U.S. company Ripple, is the world's third-largest cryptocurrency, with roughly $140 billion in circulation and a price of about $2.40 per token, according to CoinGecko data. Ripple promotes XRP as a faster and cheaper way to transfer funds internationally. The company is a significant crypto lobbying player and donated $45 million to a group that sought to influence the U.S. elections in favour of the industry, per OpenSecrets. Ripple previously fought a prolonged legal battle with the SEC over whether its 2012 XRP sales constituted an unregistered securities offering; Ripple largely prevailed, though the SEC won a partial victory. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse praised Trump's "vision of a govt digital asset reserve representative of the industry" in a post on X.
SOL, the token of the Solana blockchain, has about $73 billion in circulation and ranks as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency. Solana is widely used to launch meme coins, including Trump's own token, unveiled in January. The token lost most of its value in 2022, partly due to its association with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who frequently praised it, although Solana was not directly connected to FTX. ADA, the Cardano token, has about $31.4 billion in circulation and ranks eighth; its price briefly rose more than 70% above Friday's level after the announcement. Cardano was founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson. Reuters reported that Cardano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bitcoin, created in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, trades at around $86,000 per coin, with about $1.7 trillion in circulating value, more than half of the roughly $3 trillion total for all digital currencies. Ether, the token of the Ethereum blockchain, is the second-largest cryptocurrency and was founded by Vitalik Buterin and others in 2013-2014. World Liberty Financial, which Trump and his sons announced last year, has sold more than $500 million of Ethereum-based tokens, and in February it unveiled a strategic token reserve for bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies. The Ethereum Foundation did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
XRP, created by U.S. company Ripple, is the world's third-largest cryptocurrency, with roughly $140 billion in circulation and a price of about $2.40 per token, according to CoinGecko data. Ripple promotes XRP as a faster and cheaper way to transfer funds internationally. The company is a significant crypto lobbying player and donated $45 million to a group that sought to influence the U.S. elections in favour of the industry, per OpenSecrets. Ripple previously fought a prolonged legal battle with the SEC over whether its 2012 XRP sales constituted an unregistered securities offering; Ripple largely prevailed, though the SEC won a partial victory. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse praised Trump's "vision of a govt digital asset reserve representative of the industry" in a post on X.
SOL, the token of the Solana blockchain, has about $73 billion in circulation and ranks as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency. Solana is widely used to launch meme coins, including Trump's own token, unveiled in January. The token lost most of its value in 2022, partly due to its association with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who frequently praised it, although Solana was not directly connected to FTX. ADA, the Cardano token, has about $31.4 billion in circulation and ranks eighth; its price briefly rose more than 70% above Friday's level after the announcement. Cardano was founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson. Reuters reported that Cardano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bitcoin, created in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, trades at around $86,000 per coin, with about $1.7 trillion in circulating value, more than half of the roughly $3 trillion total for all digital currencies. Ether, the token of the Ethereum blockchain, is the second-largest cryptocurrency and was founded by Vitalik Buterin and others in 2013-2014. World Liberty Financial, which Trump and his sons announced last year, has sold more than $500 million of Ethereum-based tokens, and in February it unveiled a strategic token reserve for bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies. The Ethereum Foundation did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
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