As Cryptocurrency Summit Approaches, White House Maintains Special Status for Bitcoin
The approach to the recently announced Bitcoin reserve indicates that BTC deserves special attention among digital assets, according to a White House official.
Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De, Benjamin Schiller Updated Mar 7, 2025 16:21 UTC Published Mar 7, 2025 15:22 UTC
What you need to know:
- The government currently holds about 200,000 bitcoins as an initial reserve created at the direction of President Donald Trump, a White House official said, though officials plan to launch an audit to determine what cryptocurrencies they hold.
- President Donald Trump is set to invite some of the crypto industry's leaders to a White House summit on Friday afternoon to discuss the reserve.
- The official noted that the crypto industry had probably placed too much emphasis on the president's earlier expressed opinion about the need to accumulate a number of assets not related to Bitcoin.
President Donald Trump's executive order to create a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve aims to make the original cryptocurrency a U.S. reserve asset that deserves special treatment compared to other digital assets, according to a senior White House official.
The additional crypto hoard of other assets called for by the order would include only those the U.S. government has acquired through seizures, the official said Friday, hours before an afternoon summit on cryptocurrency at the White House. The bitcoin hoard, which he said would start with an estimated 200,000 bitcoins held by the government, could see increased investment in the future if senior administration officials find ways to invest the new funds without relying on taxpayer money.
At the same time, the federal government will conduct an audit to determine exactly how much cryptocurrency it currently holds and how much of it will be transferred to the new funds, the official said.
Read more: Trump orders creation of 'Fort Knox' Bitcoin and digital asset reserve
Friday's summit will feature many of the crypto industry's leaders, including top executives from Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, Gemini, Chainlink, and Robinhood, who will present their views on sector policy during a roundtable discussion with Trump administration officials.
Trump is also scheduled to speak at the event at 3 p.m., where he is expected to outline an executive order he signed Thursday night that will create a U.S. reserve for bitcoin. The reserve — which also includes a second reserve for all other crypto assets — will only hold digital assets seized in criminal and civil cases, rather than an active buying program, a disappointment to some industry observers.
The White House says the lack of foresight in holding onto previously seized cryptocurrencies has cost the U.S. about $17 billion. The new reserve plans to hold bitcoin indefinitely. The administration views bitcoin as the most decentralized cryptocurrency, resistant to hacking, with a limited supply and high value, the official said.
Because presidential decrees such as the one calling for the creation of this new reserve are not permanent law, the official noted that additional legislative action is needed to enshrine them.
The upcoming summit represents a major turning point for the crypto industry
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