A year ago, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a strategic crypto reserve. Now, a year later, its value has dropped by billions.
Early in his administration, Trump created a task force to study how the government could better implement and regulate crypto. This included Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto stocks.
A lot has happened since then. The first year of the Trump administration has brought a series of macroeconomic and policy changes. Some of these, like the friendly new regulations from Washington, have been good for crypto. Others, such as punitive tariffs and geopolitical escalation, do not.
Currently, the US crypto reserve and its token reserves have remained largely unchanged since its inception.
Little change in Trump’s crypto stock
On March 6, Trump created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and US Digital Asset Reserve by executive order.
A Bitcoin stock will contain only this asset, while a crypto stock will be a diverse collection of altcoins. Before the executive order, Trump said it would include XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA).
Both “will not acquire additional assets for the U.S. digital asset inventory, other than those acquired through forfeiture proceedings.”
The order effectively consolidated seizure assets that were then spread across many different federal regulatory and law enforcement agencies. According to the order, it also allows the government to invest in seized crypto.
“Taking positive steps to centralize the ownership, control, and management of these assets in the federal government will ensure proper oversight, accurate tracking, and a unified approach to managing the government’s cryptocurrency holdings,” the order said.
The government doesn’t publish exact details of Bitcoin holdings or crypto asset holdings, but blockchain analytics firm Arkham Research has identified several blockchain wallets linked to the US government.
At the time of publication, the government’s crypto holdings are worth $22,393,867,000, nearly $22 billion of which is in Bitcoin alone. Other major assets are the stablecoin USDC (USDC), Ether (ETH), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and BNB (BNB).
To what extent these assets constitute official stock or how and when they were transferred is not yet common knowledge. But the value of the dollar has fallen significantly. According to Arkham, when Trump signed the order, the total assets of the US were more than 30 billion dollars. At the time of publication, they are worth $22 billion, down 26%.
The White House seems unfazed by this. Deputy press secretary Kush Desai said of the recent price drop, “the instability of a free market where the government does not set prices does not change the Trump administration’s commitment to ensuring American dominance in cryptocurrency and other advanced technologies of the future.”
Bitcoin token balance remains unchanged and has no plans to buy
Despite the hopes of Bitcoin maximalists that the US will start buying Bitcoin, the balance remains unchanged. Since the executive order, the US government has held 328,272 BTC.
The balance of the Ether token, the next largest asset in the U.S. government’s portfolio, has declined following an executive order that suggests an exchange or transfer. But after April 2025, the token balance remained the same.
Tether’s USDt (USDT), the largest stable by token balance in the US portfolio, saw a significant jump from more than 200 million tokens in May 2025 before falling to pre-March 2026 levels.
These patterns of buying and selling are not particularly clear. As noted above, the government does not disclose the volumes.
While the new crypto-reserve strategy did not completely prohibit the government from buying Bitcoin, it did require that any purchases be made in a budget-neutral manner. AI and crypto king David Sachs said last year, “It can’t add to the deficit, it can’t add to the debt, it can’t tax the American people.”
“It won’t cost the taxpayer a dime, but if the secretaries can figure out how to collect more bitcoin without costing the taxpayers, then they have the authority to do so.”
For a year, it is not clear whether the administration has developed such a strategy or not.
Jason Janowitz, co-founder of crypto firm Blockworks, told the BBC last year that a crypto stock of several different assets could have a negative impact on markets. “Without a clear framework, we risk arbitrary asset selection that distorts markets and undermines public confidence.”
“Ensuring transparency through independent audits and public reporting is essential to promote innovation instead of favoritism,” he said.
The idea of Bitcoin reserves, be they at the government or corporate level, gained momentum last year after the success of software company-cum-Bitcoin Strategy as an investment tool. Bitcoin’s characterization as digital gold has made holding the asset an attractive prospect for government budgets.
According to tracking site BitcoinTreasuries.net, 10 countries hold bitcoin, including the US, China, Ukraine, El Salvador, the UK and North Korea.
At the corporate level, analysts expect consolidation as the bear market continues. Wojciech Kaszicki, chief strategist of crypto infrastructure and treasury firm BTCS, previously told Cointelegraph that companies with Bitcoin reserves below net asset value are being acquired by existing businesses.
Bitcoin storage is still a new idea that has yet to be tested in the depths of crypto winter.
Magazine: Bitcoin may face difficulties in any attempt to freeze Satoshi coins
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