Investing.com -- Cryptocurrencies remained in the red Friday but pared the bulk of the sharp losses from a day earlier after President Donald Trump’s signed an executive order establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve (SBR) for the United States, along with a separate “digital asset stockpile.”
Bitcoin was down 2.5% in the past 24 hours at $89,250 as of 06:38 ET. The premier cryptocurrency had briefly plunged as low as $84,688.13 on Thursday after news of the reserve surfaced.
Other major tokens, including Ether , XRP , Solana’s SOL and Cardano’s ADA , traded lower but also pared earlier losses. These assets had rallied earlier in the week after Trump signaled they would be included in the new strategy.
David Sacks, the White House crypto and AI czar, said in a post on X that the Bitcoin reserve will consist of assets the U.S. government already holds, primarily from law enforcement seizures. He emphasized that this approach “will not cost taxpayers a dime.”
According to Arkham, the U.S. currently owns over 198,000 bitcoins, valued at roughly $17 billion.
The separate digital asset stockpile will include “digital assets other than bitcoin forfeited in criminal or civil proceedings,” Sacks said.
He also noted that the government does not plan to acquire additional assets beyond those obtained through forfeiture. Data from Arkham indicates the U.S. holds about 56 ether tokens worth nearly $119 million, though it does not list holdings of XRP, Solana, or Cardano .
Thursday’s initial market reaction reflected investor disappointment over the lack of any immediate government purchases of Bitcoin, particularly amid broader weakness in equities.
Sacks also noted that there are no plans to add more assets to the crypto stockpile beyond what the government has already acquired, though the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce have the authority to explore “budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided that those strategies have no incremental costs on American taxpayers.”
What are crypto experts saying
Following Trump’s executive order, several crypto experts shared their thoughts with Investing.com regarding the latest developments.
Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered (OTC: SCBFF ) analyst
"While BTC remains in a 80-95k range it is probably choppy an there’s not a lot to do. But I think the next move is out the top of this range. Buy weekend dip caused by lack of news from Trump tonight, look for a break out of the top of this range soon (especially if the tariff noise can slow down for a while)."
Hong Yea, co-founder and CEO of world’s first regulated DEX, GRVT
”A typical case of “buy the rumor, sell the news.” Now that the news is out, the market has priced in the uncertainty between SBR with buys and SBR without buys. We saw a similar movement around the BTC ETF approval.
The current price movement remains within the same liquidity pool, and we will gain better insight as SBR clarity improves. The market will soon bounce back. In the longer run, this will attract more capital inflows into crypto.”
Andri Fauzan Adziima, a research lead at crypto exchange Bitrue
"While this move suggests a long-term commitment to Bitcoin, the lack of transparency around the reserve and Trump’s unexpected decision to include XRP, SOL, and ADA has left investors confused and feeling misled.
Many had expected Trump to take a more aggressive pro-Bitcoin stance, potentially acquiring BTC directly, but instead, this policy shift has fueled uncertainty, triggering a sell-off in both Bitcoin and MicroStrategy ($MSTR), which fell over 7%. Until clearer details emerge on how the government plans to manage these holdings, market sentiment is likely to remain cautious."
Lynn C., CMO of SONEX
Bitcoin’s been choppy, with traders adjusting to market shifts. Right now, the market’s in a cooldown phase, waiting for the next big move. Whether it breaks out or dips further depends on momentum, but for now, it’s just a patience game.
Jason Brink, CEO of Datagram.network
"The recent actions in BTC price reflects a euphoric response to the formalization of a BTC reserve, a move that cements its role as a financial instrument of global significance. At the same time, the market is awakening to the reality that BTC is now a potential vector for economic proxy war—where nations with strategic hashpower influence can weaponize mining infrastructure to disrupt those holding BTC as a state-backed reserve."
Pat Zhang, head of research at crypto exchange WOO X
"If BTC fails to break through the critical resistance zone between $93,000 and $97,000 by March 20, the longer it stays below this range, the higher the likelihood of an impulse wave to the downside. This could result in a continued decline as the market seeks a final bottom for this correction phase."
Petr Kozyakov, Co-Founder and CEO at Mercuryo
“In a classic sell the news event, bitcoin slid about 6 per cent after Trump signed an executive order to set up a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The biggest cryptocurrency has since stabilised at about $89,000. Nevertheless, Trump putting pen to paper on a strategic reserve is long-term bullish and it is indicative of a major shift in US government policy that may well form a blueprint for that of other nations across the globe to follow.
While the executive order has caused some disappointment as it will not acquire additional assets beyond those already seized this is more a reflection of the near-term thinking of traders. The long-term outlook for bitcoin looks more positive than ever before.”