In a move that’s seemingly par for the course now, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, completed his swing from crypto skeptic to crypto backer by signing an executive order that would put BTC in the country’s back pocket.
In March, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stock pile were announced, giving the United States a stake in the world’s leading crypto and potentially other coins.
A Strategic Reserve, Some Say, Isn’t so Strategic
As of March 2025, the country’s Bitcoin reserve was estimated to hold around 200,000 BTC. At the time of writing, those assets were worth around $19bn. Key to the concept of the strategic reserve is the origins of the coins.
The crypto wasn’t purchased by the U.S. government. Instead, it’s comprised of seized crypto assets, confiscated or forfeited through criminal or civil investigations. Usually, such assets would be sold at auction, but now, they’re in the reserve. However, the executive order also dictates that none of the Bitcoin deposited is to be sold.
The U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile is essentially another section owned by the Department of the Treasury that deals with all non-Bitcoin digital assets, and it’s these that could be sold if deemed strategic to do so. Both can be added to the future by the governing agencies, provided that they are budget-neutral and strategic.
However, there are plenty of people who say that the setup isn’t overly strategic. Accused of being particularly slapdash rather than strategic, issues like actually enforcing a “digital Fort Knox” in the current cybersecurity space, the disproportionate size of the reserve to its risks, and not making the most of ideal selling situations may hinder the utility of the reserve and stockpile.
Improving Sentiments Around Crypto
Crypto made mainstream headlines back in 2017 for simply how much Bitcoin had become worth. Seen then as an investment vehicle – for that was how it was predominantly covered – more have come to explore the use and potential as a payment method, even if it differs from the fiat transaction system.
Even if the U.S. government’s move to stockpile BTC and other digital assets isn’t seen as having the most savvy setup, it does add another level of credibility and validity to these coins as payment methods. In 2025, there are around 65 million American adults holding crypto, with a further 14 percent planning to buy this year.
It’s a large, growing, and increasingly accepted sector that businesses can increasingly reinforce and benefit from. As mentioned, the system of payments in crypto doesn’t follow the usual banking systems. Yet, with a specialized and simplified crypto payment gateway, the experience is very much the same.
By generating cryptocurrency addresses that are unique for customers, they can easily send payments to a business. It still goes through the blockchain, and once received, the gateway informs the seller of the funds being received.
Crucially, paying over the blockchain in ways like this can cut fees from a standard four percent to a quarter of that, or less.
Crypto payments are tipped to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17 percent between 2022 and 2029, and headline news like the U.S. creating a reserve and stockpile of crypto will only help to encourage people to spend in crypto.
Just as importantly, the U.S. making this kind of move will inspire other nations to act accordingly, propelling the sector even further beyond the 50 states.
