Why is Trump’s “strictly selected” of strategic reserve assets?

Author: 1912212.eth, Foresight News

On the evening of March 2, Trump once again added a fire to the dying currency market. He announced on social platforms that U.S. cryptocurrency reserves will enhance the status of this key industry after years of suppression by the Biden administration, which is why my digital assets executive order directs the presidential task force to advance cryptocurrency strategic reserves including XRP, SOL and ADA. I will make sure the United States becomes the cryptocurrency capital of the world. We are making America great again!

It seems that he is still unsatisfied. Just an hour later, Trump issued another article saying that it is obvious that BTC and ETH and other valuable cryptocurrencies will be the core of the reserves. I also like Bitcoin and Ethereum!

Affected by this news, BTC rose from $85,000 to around $95,000, ETH rose from $2,200 to $2,550, SOL also rebounded from $140 to around $180, ADA rose from $0.65 to around $1.17, and XRP rose from $2.2 to a maximum of $2.9999. Many altcoins such as SUI, ENA, ONDO, etc. have also ushered in a significant increase. The previously pessimistic and desperate market sentiment was instantly swept away.

In terms of contract data, open contracts across the network were liquidated at US$825 million in 24 hours and short positions were liquidated at US$545 million.

From doubt to embrace, Trump is fulfilling his promise

As early as 2021, he publicly criticized Bitcoin as a scam, believing it threatened the hegemony of the dollar. However, since the 2024 campaign, he has gradually changed his position and promised at the Bitcoin 2024 conference that if elected, he would retain all the bitcoins held by the federal government and create a "national Bitcoin reserve." The statement not only implies that this commitment will be fulfilled, but also expands the scope to other mainstream cryptocurrencies, showing a new understanding of the strategic value of digital assets.

Currently, the global crypto market is in a period of volatility. Although Trump has triggered a wave of craze after his election, the recent price decline has frustrated investor confidence, especially Trump's celebrity concept currency, which has made a few rich, has also drained market sentiment and became a short-term high for crypto market trends. Mainstream coins and meme coins have begun to decline, and Bitcoin has even recently fallen below $80,000. Against this background, Trump's statement is like a shot of a heart-warming shot, injecting new vitality into the market.

Crypto Tsar David Sacks posted a statement saying, "President Trump has announced a strategic cryptocurrency reserve composed of Bitcoin and other top cryptocurrencies. This is consistent with his first week executive order 14178. President Trump is fulfilling his commitment to build the United States into the "world's cryptocurrency capital." More content will be announced at the White House Cryptocurrency Summit on March 7.

Why are they?

Many investors are curious why the tokens that announce strategic reserves are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and ADA, not others.

Bitcoin: The Undisputed King

As the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin's status is unshakable. The market value share has remained above 40% for a long time and is regarded as "digital gold". Trump chose BTC not only because of its global recognition, but also because of its symbolic significance - the beginning of decentralized finance. Incorporating it into the strategic reserves demonstrates the importance the U.S. attaches to cryptocurrency leadership while laying a solid foundation of trust for the reserve program.

Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong commented on social media about "Trump is advancing the cryptocurrency reserve program" that Bitcoin may be the best choice in terms of asset allocation for strategic reserves. As the successor of gold, Bitcoin has the simplest and clearest narrative.

Polymarket data shows that the market bet on building a strategic Bitcoin reserve probability in 2025 has risen from 40% to above 60%.

Ethereum: The cornerstone of smart contracts

Ethereum is another beacon in the blockchain world. As a pioneer of smart contracts, ETH supports DeFi, NFT and other fields, with a total locked position value of more than 100 billion US dollars. Its huge developer community and rich ecosystem make it a hub for blockchain innovation. Trump's choice of ETH shows his recognition of the potential for diversification of the crypto economy rather than just hoarding a single asset.

In early February this year, Trump's second son Eric Trump once called for an order for eth, saying that it was the best time to increase his holdings in Ethereum.

Solana: High-performance L1 stands for

Solana has emerged with its high throughput and low transaction costs, and can process tens of thousands of transactions per second, far exceeding Bitcoin and Ethereum. Although it has been controversial over network stability issues in the past, its technological advantages are still undeniable. It has attracted a large amount of capital inflows since 2024 and has been in the limelight on the meme wave. Trump's celebrity concept coin TRUMP chose to release it on Solana. Trump has included it in his reserves, showing a forward-looking layout for the next generation of blockchain technology, aiming to seize the high ground of performance competition. Solana is currently the second largest public chain after Ethereum, with a market value of over US$86 billion.

XRP: Cross-border payment weapon

Powered by Ripple, XRP focuses on the cross-border payments field, with fast transaction speeds and low fees, and has been adopted by hundreds of financial institutions around the world. Although its lawsuit with the SEC has sparked controversy, its 2023 victory has justified its name. Trump's choice of XRP may be regarded as a bridge that connects the traditional finance and the crypto world. On March 3, XRP's FDV reached US$272.6 billion after the currency price surged sharply, surpassing Ethereum for the first time.

In February this year, Trump shared an XRP-related article at Truth Social on Tuesday. The article was published in January by CoinDesk, revealing that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has seen growth in both business collaboration and recruitment in the United States after Trump won the election last November.

In the same month, Nasdaq Securities and Exchange Markets LLC filed a proposed rule change with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list and trade shares of the CoinShares XRP ETF (the “Trust”). "The XRP ETF is likely to be launched within the year, depending on the speed of the resolution of legal disputes with the SEC," said B2BINPAY CEO Arthur Azizov.

Cardano (ADA): Academic-driven Potential Stocks

Cardano is known for academic research-driven development. Although ADA's market value is less than the previous few, its application in Africa and Southeast Asia is eye-catching. For example, Cardano, in partnership with the Ethiopian government, provides blockchain identity authentication to 5 million students, demonstrating the potential of inclusive finance. Trump has included it, perhaps intent on demonstrating the U.S. support for global inclusive finance while adding diversity and innovation to reserves. Currently, ADA ranks 8th in market value, exceeding US$37 billion.

Late last year, Robinhood US re-listed ADA and XRP.

Conclusion

Among the many cryptocurrencies, why are popular currencies such as Dogecoin and BNB lost? Although DOGE has endorsed Musk, its speculative attributes are too strong and lack substantial technical support, making it difficult to bear the seriousness of the national strategic reserves. Although BNB plays a major role in the Binance ecosystem, its centralization tendency is contrary to the decentralized spirit of cryptocurrencies and it relies too much on a single platform. In addition, although technical currency distributions such as Avalanche have great potential, they are still not as good as those selected for the five in terms of market influence and maturity.

Trump’s selection of BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP and ADA as strategic reserves reflects his team’s deep understanding of cryptocurrency diversification. These five currencies have their own characteristics, covering key areas such as store of value, smart contracts, high-performance blockchain, financial bridges and future potential, and together form a balanced portfolio of crypto assets. This move may not only reshape the United States' position in the global digital economy, but also set a benchmark for confidence for the crypto industry.

In the future, with the advancement of reserve plans, the status of these five cryptocurrencies may be further consolidated. For unselected currencies, this may be a signal to inspire them to accelerate innovation. In any case, Trump's choice has opened a new door to the crypto world.