- Media learned of Donald Trump’s plan to issue an order on 20 January making cryptocurrency a national priority.
- An advisory council on digital assets is also planned to champion the industry’s policy priorities.
- Reports circulating online that Trump wants to create a “national reserve of American altcoins” were debunked.
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump intends to issue an order elevating cryptocurrencies to a policy priority and giving industry representatives a voice in his administration, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
According to the agency, crypto assets would become a national priority. The status urges government agencies to work with the industry. An advisory council on cryptocurrencies is also planned to advocate the sector’s policy priorities.
Trump enjoys strong support in the crypto industry thanks to his promises to fire SEC chair Gary Gensler, create a strategic bitcoin reserve and be broadly friendly to the sector. Several major players in the digital-asset ecosystem have made significant donations to the U.S. president-elect’s inaugural fund.
The order would mark a shift in the approach to crypto, which has faced crackdowns in recent years. The SEC has filed more than 100 lawsuits against crypto-related companies, while banking regulators have made it harder for them to work with traditional financial institutions.
Bloomberg reports that officials are discussing whether to include in the order a directive instructing all federal agencies to review their digital-asset policies and possibly pause litigation.
On 15 January it emerged that the SEC under a Trump administration could, in the first days, review court cases against crypto companies and even withdraw some that are pending.
Trump’s first initiatives after inauguration could address the “debanking” of industry firms and the digital-asset accounting rule (SAB 121). The idea of creating a national reserve of the first cryptocurrency is also under study.
The document could appear on 20 January, the day he takes office, though the current draft is not final.
“I think Donald Trump is going to signal that the United States is back and ready to lead in this industry,” said Kara Calvert, head of U.S. policy at Coinbase.
Trump will not create a reserve of XRP, SOL, USDC?
On 16 January the New York Post, citing sources, reported that Trump is considering a strategic reserve of “U.S.-created” digital assets such as SOL, USDC and XRP. In recent weeks he held meetings with the founders of the named projects.
Insiders expressed scepticism about the idea, as it would shift the focus away from bitcoin.
However, Unchained’s sources denied that the incoming president wants to create an “altcoin reserve.”
Susan Hendrick, senior director of communications at Ripple, confirmed to the outlet that the company’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, had urged Trump to diversify any potential crypto reserve beyond BTC.
In early January, it became known they met over dinner.
On 15 January, Axios published Trump’s words to representatives of an unnamed company.
“You guys made a certain amount of money last year, and now, thanks to me, you’ll make much more. But when I needed you, where the hell were you? You weren’t with me, or maybe you were with her [Kamala Harris],” he said.
According to Unchained, the conversation was with Ripple representatives. The company’s CLO, Stuart Alderoty, denied it.
Wow, unnamed sources? Here’s a named source: me. The rumors published by this 3rd-tier crypto rag are pure fiction. Completely made up.
Wonder who’s behind this? ?
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) January 16, 2025
“Wow, unnamed sources? Here is a named source: me. The rumors published by this third-tier crypto rag are pure fiction. Completely made up. I wonder who is behind this?” he wrote.
In October 2024 Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen sent $1 million in XRP to a political action committee (PAC) backing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
XRP dynamics
Amid rumours of adding XRP to a U.S. national reserve, the token’s price surged.
On 16 January the crypto asset approached its all-time high of $3.4 on Bitfinex, Kraken and Binance for the first time since January 2018.
In January 2018 XRP reached $3.31 on Bitstamp and then stayed below that price for seven years.
In mid-January 2025, Santiment analysts noted that whale buying was the main driver. They highlighted “significant accumulation” by wallets holding from 1 million XRP to 10 million XRP. Since 12 November 2024, holdings at whale addresses have increased by 1.43 billion — 37.4% of their combined balances.
Coinbase premium
Despite Trump’s reported intent to make cryptocurrencies a national priority, bitcoin on Coinbase, America’s largest exchange, is trading at a small discount to Binance. That points to moderate U.S. demand for digital gold.
The indicator reflects the price difference between bitcoin on the U.S. exchange and Binance. The higher the reading, the stronger U.S. demand for the first cryptocurrency relative to the rest of the world.
In mid-January, K33 Research analysts said Trump’s inauguration was already “priced in.”