WASHINGTON, March 4 — US President Donald Trump has named five cryptocurrencies he wants to be part of a new strategic reserve — in other words, crypto holdings owned by the US government.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump announced that his January executive order on digital assets would create a stockpile of XRP, SOL and ADA currencies, surprising traders by choosing three lesser-known tokens and sending their prices soaring.
Later on Sunday, Trump added that bitcoin and ether , the two biggest cryptocurrencies, would be included in the reserve.
Here is what we know about the tokens, in the order Trump named them:
1. XRP
Created by the US crypto company Ripple, XRP is the world’s third-biggest cryptocurrency, with US$140 billion of the tokens in circulation, and each token worth around US$2.40, according to CoinGecko data.
Ripple has touted XRP as a way to help transfer funds around the world faster and more cheaply than other cryptocurrencies including bitcoin. Like other tokens, its price has been volatile.
Ripple is a major player when it comes to crypto lobbying. It donated US$45 million to a lobbying group that tried to influence the US elections in favour of the crypto industry, according to OpenSecrets.
In January, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse posted a photo of himself alongside Trump, saying they had enjoyed a “Great dinner”.
For years, the company was locked in a legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over whether its sales of XRP in 2012 counted as an unregistered securities offering. Ripple mostly won that case, though the SEC did have a partial victory.
Asked for comment on Monday, a Ripple spokesperson referred Reuters to a tweet Garlinghouse published on X on Sunday in which he said he appreciated Trump’s “vision of a govt digital asset reserve representative of the industry.”
Ripple’s President Monica Long told Reuters in June that the PAC that Ripple had donated to was bipartisan and focused on supporting candidates who back the regulations desired by the crypto industry.
2. SOL
SOL is the name of the token that runs on a blockchain called Solana. That blockchain is often used to launch meme coins — including Trump’s own cryptocurrency, which the president unveiled in January.
With around US$73 billion worth of tokens in circulation, CoinGecko data puts it as the sixth-biggest cryptocurrency.
It has been volatile and lost most of its value in 2022, hurt by its association with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Although Solana was not directly related to the now-collapsed crypto exchange, Bankman-Fried frequently praised the token.
A relatively newer player in crypto, Solana saw the price of its token soar in 2021 when it was talked up as a rival to ether and because of its use in the then-booming market in non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Solana’s website says it is managed by “Solana Foundation”, which describes itself as a non-profit foundation based in Zug in Switzerland. Lily Liu and Daniel Albert are listed as the foundation’s executive directors. Reuters was not able to immediately reach those connected with Solana.
3. ADA
ADA runs on a blockchain called Cardano. It was founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson, a well-known US tech entrepreneur and co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain project.
There is US$31.4 billion worth of ADA tokens in circulation, according to CoinGecko, making it the eighth-biggest cryptocurrency.
The token’s price was the biggest gainer after Trump’s announcement, briefly soaring more than 70% above its level on Friday.
Cardano’s website lists five entities, including a Switzerland-based non-profit, called the Cardano Foundation, and a for-profit arm, called Emurgo. Cardano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
4. Bitcoin
The first and biggest cryptocurrency, bitcoin started circulating in 2009, created by a mysterious figure identified only as Satoshi Nakamoto.
Just like other cryptocurrencies, bitcoin is primarily a way to move money between people without using intermediaries such as banks.
One individual bitcoin costs around US$86,000 and there are around US$1.7 trillion worth of the tokens in circulation, CoinGecko data shows, meaning it accounts for more than half of the US$3 trillion in nominal value of all digital currencies.
Bitcoin surged last year, helped by the US SEC in January 2024 allowing it to be included in exchange-traded funds and by Trump’s election in November, which raised expectations for a wave of pro-crypto regulation.
5. Ether
Ether is the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, which seeks to be a major player in decentralised finance (DeFi) – the name given to the use of blockchain technology to offer financial services without intermediaries.
Founded in 2013-2014 by Vitalik Buterin and others to compete with bitcoin, its token, ether, trades at a fraction of bitcoin’s price but is still the second-biggest cryptocurrency.
World Liberty Financial, a crypto company Trump and his sons announced last year, has issued digital tokens on the Ethereum blockchain that it has so far sold for over US$500 million. World Liberty said in February it was unveiling a strategic token reserve designed to bolster bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies “that are at the forefront of reshaping global finance.”
The Ethereum Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. — Reuters
