Concerns Raised Over Expanding National Strategic Reserve to Altcoins, Analysts Warn
Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, the discussion around a strategic bitcoin reserve has dominated the crypto space, but could the new president have plans for other tokens as well?
Solana’s SOL, XRP, and Hedera’s HBAR were among the top performers on Thursday, with the surge attributed to a New York Post report suggesting Trump was “receptive” to the idea of establishing an “America-first strategic reserve” that would include SOL, XRP, and Circle’s USDC stablecoin.
Following the report, SOL jumped more than 8%, reaching $217, while XRP extended its rally to $3.35, approaching its 2018 record high. HBAR, the native token of the Hedera Hashgraph network, surged by over 10%, reaching its highest price since early December.
As a result, the CoinDesk 20 Index saw a 5% increase over the past 24 hours, outperforming bitcoin, which rose by just 0.5% and hovered near $100,000.
Investor anticipation is mounting ahead of Trump’s inauguration, with expectations of first-day executive orders that could focus on the digital asset industry. During his campaign, Trump expressed a desire to establish the U.S. as a global crypto leader, including the creation of a national bitcoin stockpile. Additionally, Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the BITCOIN Act in July, proposing the acquisition of 5% of bitcoin’s total supply. Several U.S. states are also considering or have proposed legislation to create a bitcoin reserve.
Concerns Over Altcoin Inclusion
While the idea of the government purchasing altcoins alongside bitcoin has sparked excitement among some token holders, there are growing concerns from market analysts.
“This is a ridiculous idea and will never happen,” Quinn Thompson, founder of hedge fund Lekker Capital, posted on X.
Thompson further explained to CoinDesk, “It’s not the government’s place to be making venture capital bets on altcoins. This rumor about a strategic reserve for non-BTC coins is just another example of people taking a bad idea and running with it as fact.”
Anthony Georgiades, general partner at Innovating Capital, voiced similar concerns, emphasizing that while promoting U.S.-based innovation is positive, a “nationalization of digital assets” could undermine the decentralization ethos of blockchain economies.
“As it stands today, there’s truly only one token that is sufficiently and purely decentralized, and that is bitcoin,” Georgiades noted in an interview on CoinDesk Markets Daily. “Other projects may have the potential for decentralization, but this push towards nationalization could weaken those efforts over time.”
