- Trump’s executive order creates a Bitcoin-only Strategic Reserve, contradicting his previous promise to include XRP and other altcoins.
- XRP and other altcoins are relegated to a separate “Digital Asset Stockpile” which the government can only hold or sell, not purchase.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comments suggesting future expansion to include other cryptocurrencies contradict the actual text of the executive order.
Ripple‘s lobbying efforts faced a significant setback yesterday when Donald Trump signed an executive order that excluded XRP from the promised US Strategic Crypto Reserve. Despite Trump’s explicit March 2 promise to include XRP, the cryptocurrency was instead relegated to a separate stockpile with significant restrictions on government acquisition.
At 7:11 pm yesterday, so-called "Crypto Czar" David Sacks tweeted the text of the signed executive order, revealing that XRP would not receive the privileged status Ripple and its supporters had anticipated. The revelation came after Ripple and its co-founders had reportedly invested tens of millions of dollars in political donations, hoping for XRP’s inclusion in a sovereign crypto reserve.
According to the official document, XRP is categorized as a "Stockpile Asset" rather than a reserve asset. The executive order explicitly states: "the United States Government shall not acquire additional Stockpile Assets other than in connection with criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings or in satisfaction of any civil money penalty imposed by any agency without further executive or legislative action."
When Trump initially promised to include XRP in the strategic reserve on March 2, the cryptocurrency’s price surged 36% within an hour. Since then, XRP has retraced most of that gain, retaining only about 10% of the rally.
The executive order creates two distinct categories:
A Bitcoin Strategic Reserve – exclusively for Bitcoin (BTC), with authorization for the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to develop budget-neutral strategies to acquire more.
- A US Digital Asset Stockpile – for all other cryptocurrencies including XRP, Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Ethereum (ETH), which the government can only hold or sell, not purchase.
This structure directly contradicts Trump’s original promise to create a comprehensive crypto reserve that would include multiple digital assets beyond Bitcoin. The government already holds approximately 200,000 BTC, much of which is pending disbursement to Bitfinex.
Adding to the confusion, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared on CNBC the morning after the executive order was signed, making statements that seemed to conflict with the document’s text. "We’re starting with bitcoin, but it’s an overall crypto reserve," Bessent claimed, suggesting a potential future expansion that is not supported by the actual executive order.
As one of the two officials Trump directed to develop Bitcoin acquisition strategies (alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick), Bessent’s ambiguous statement raises questions about the administration’s actual intentions regarding altcoins.
The outcome represents a major disappointment for Ripple and the XRP community, who had anticipated government purchases of XRP would drive significant value growth for the cryptocurrency.
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