Bitcoin soars 20% after Trump names cryptocurrencies to be in US ‘strategic reserve’

SINGAPORE – US President Donald Trump has unveiled five cryptocurrencies that he said would be included in a new US strategic reserve, sending the price of Bitcoin and the other named digital tokens soaring.

Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social that his January executive order on digital assets would create a stockpile of currencies including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana and Cardano. The names had not previously been announced.

Bitcoin and Ether will be at the heart of this reserve, he posted on March 2.

The post sent Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, up 20 per cent from the November lows it was trading at on Feb 28, helping flip sentiment on a token that has been sliding since mid-January on disappointment that Mr Trump has not followed through on pledges to loosen regulation.

It was last trading around US$93,057, up 16 per cent from Feb 28’s US$78,273.

Ether was up 10 per cent and was last at US$2,450, while XRP was up 31 per cent. Solana gained 15 per cent and Cardano was up 69 per cent.

“Trump just gave the pump that crypto traders have been holding out for,” said Mr Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.

He added that “any faith that was lost last week appears to have been restored” and new highs could be made unless there was another wave of risk-off selling.

Mr Chris Weston, head of research at Australian online broker Pepperstone, said it was possible the rally will extend into the first

White House Crypto Summit

that Mr Trump is hosting on March 7, with the risk that the bearishness in other markets could weigh on sentiment.

While Wall Street closed higher on Feb 28, the recent sell-off in large technology bellwethers such as Nvidia has eroded confidence in Bitcoin, which some see as an alternative tech proxy.

Bitcoin fell more than 17 per cent in February, clocking its biggest monthly percentage fall since June 2022 and losing more than a third of its price since topping US$105,000 in early January.

Its rally since Mr Trump’s November election was spurred by optimism that the crypto-friendly President would champion a strategic Bitcoin fund and end the previous Joe Biden administration’s crackdown on the industry.

But beyond a flurry of appointments of crypto-friendly officials when Mr Trump took office, there has been little concrete news so far around that policy for investors.

“While this announcement has significantly boosted prices, it has also raised concerns,” wrote IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.

The funding for cryptocurrency purchases in the reserve could either come from US taxpayers or the cryptocurrencies in the asset will be those seized in law enforcement actions, he said. “The latter isn’t anywhere near as bullish, as it simply represents a transfer between accounts rather than new buying entering the market.” REUTERS