The U.S. strategic stockpile will include bitcoin, ether, XRP, solana and cardano
Bitcoin fell 2.61 percent to $91,817 on Monday following a major rally in the previous session triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement on social media where he named five digital assets he expects to include in a new U.S. strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that his January executive order on digital assets would create a stockpile of currencies including bitcoin, ether, XRP, solana and cardano. Following his initial announcement, Trump added: “And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be at the heart of the Reserve.”
Crypto market gains 10 percent following announcement
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, gained more than 11 percent to $94,164 on Sunday afternoon. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, rose around 13 percent to $2,516. The total cryptocurrency market rose about 10 percent or more than $300 billion in the hours following Trump’s announcement, according to CoinGecko.
As of 8:39 GMT, bitcoin is trading 2.61 percent lower at $91,817. Meanwhile, ether is down 6.16 percent to $2,363.
Trump won support from the crypto industry in his 2024 election run, promising a less restrictive environment and more policy support. The U.S. president is hosting the first White House Crypto Summit on Friday, and his family has also launched its own coins.
Under Trump, the Securities and Exchange Commission has withdrawn investigations into several crypto companies and dropped a lawsuit against Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S. This comes after major crackdowns on the industry in Joe Biden’s term to protect Americans from fraud and money laundering.
Read: Economic data, ECB rate decision to drive market sentiment this week as U.S. tariffs loom
Bitcoin records biggest monthly fall since June 2022 in February
In recent weeks, cryptocurrency prices fell sharply with some of the biggest digital currencies erasing nearly all of the gains made after Trump’s election win triggered a wave of excitement across the industry.
Bitcoin fell more than 17 percent in February, recording its biggest monthly fall since June 2022 and losing more than a third of its price since reaching $105,000 in early January on disappointment that Trump has not followed through on pledges to loosen regulation.
“Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $80,000 on Friday, hitting its lowest level in 3.5 months amid uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, crypto regulations, and weak investor sentiment following a $1.5 billion hack in Ethereum. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last down 5.7 percent at $79,792, having touched an intraday low of $78,523, its weakest level since November 11,” stated Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial.
With a lack of supportive factors, the market dipped. Analysts said the crypto market needs a reason to move higher, such as signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve plans to cut interest rates or a clear pro-crypto regulatory framework from the Trump administration.
“Despite the dip, institutions like Standard Chartered remain optimistic, targeting $500K by the end of Trump’s term. Additionally, Texas’s unanimous approval of a bitcoin Reserve shows strong government support for the sector,” added Valecha.
