On March 6, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile [Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile]. Coupled with recent shifts at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this order signals a significant pivot in U.S. cryptocurrency policy.

The main points of the executive order are:

• America as the “Crypto Capital of the World”:  Reaffirms Trump’s vision to position the U.S. as the global leader in digital asset technology.
• “Digital Gold”: Highlights bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million bitcoins and its un-hacked security, likening it to gold.
• Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Establishes a reserve with approximately 200,000 bitcoins - seized from government forfeiture proceedings - to be held as a long-term store of value.
• Acquisition Strategy: Directs the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to develop budget-neutral plans to acquire more bitcoin without taxpayer costs.
• Stockpile for Other Crypto: Creates a secondary stockpile for non-bitcoin digital assets from seizures, but with no active purchase plans for these.

This executive order coincides with pro-crypto developments at the SEC, including Chairman Gary Gensler’s retirement, the nomination of Trump’s crypto-friendly pick Paul Atkins as his likely successor, and the SEC’s scaling back of enforcement efforts against cryptocurrency firms. Along with the passage of the 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code in 25 U.S. jurisdictions to-date, these Trump administration changes should bolster Bitcoin’s legitimacy as a strategic asset, akin to gold in national reserves, and should open the door for greater adoption by banks, financial institutions, existing crypto-related and other businesses.