Trump: The U.S. government holds 200,000 bitcoins, Treasury Secretary: Will use stablecoins to maintain the dominance of the U.S. dollar

Former U.S. President Donald Trump held a digital currency summit at the White House on Friday, discussing an executive order regarding plans to establish a federal Bitcoin reserve for the United States. Media reports indicate that this marks an important step for the cryptocurrency towards mainstream acceptance. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Trump administration would utilize stablecoins to maintain the dominance of the U.S. dollar.

In his speech, Trump compared the Bitcoin reserve to a "virtual Fort Knox for storing digital gold," stating that it would be held at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The plan would transfer the Bitcoin already held by the government into a dedicated fund, operating similarly to the government's strategic petroleum reserve and gold reserves.

He noted that the U.S. federal government is one of the largest holders of Bitcoin globally, estimated to possess 200,000 Bitcoins, which were seized from criminal and civil cases.

Trump stated:

“We want to always be at the forefront of everything that develops.”

“Last year, I promised to make America the global Bitcoin superpower and the cryptocurrency capital of the world, and we are taking historic action to fulfill that promise.”

He also mentioned efforts to end the bureaucratic war on cryptocurrencies.

“The U.S. government foolishly sold tens of thousands of Bitcoins, and if they hadn’t sold them, their value would be in the billions of dollars.”

“But they did sell them, most of which were sold during the Biden administration. That’s not a good thing.”

“From today on, the U.S. will follow the rules that every Bitcoin holder is very familiar with—never sell your Bitcoin. That’s their mantra.”

“I don’t know if that’s right, who knows? Who cares?”

David Sacks, the White House Director of Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency Affairs, spoke after Trump, saying, “This industry has suffered from suppression and persecution over the past four years.” He told Trump, “No one knows this feeling better than you.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Trump administration would end the "weaponization of regulation" against digital assets.

“We will position the U.S. as the global leader in digital asset strategy. America must recognize this fact and lead other countries in the digital age.”

“The dollar will continue to maintain its status as the dominant reserve currency and leverage stablecoins to support this goal.”

However, the Bitcoin market reacted lukewarmly to Trump's Bitcoin reserve plan, with Bitcoin prices dropping from a recent high of about $94,302 last Sunday to around $85,913 currently, down nearly 4% on Friday afternoon.

A cryptocurrency trader told the media, “Ultimately, we are all looking for signs of new buyers entering the market. But there are currently no specific details on how, when, and to what extent the government will become new buyers.” Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at Vaneck, stated that the establishment of Bitcoin as a strategic reserve "makes it difficult for anyone to argue that Bitcoin is not an asset that can be included in a portfolio, as the government itself has indicated its intention to hold it long-term."

Sigel mentioned that the next step is for the government to work with Congress to explore how the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Commerce can take measures to purchase more Bitcoin