Trump names cryptocurrencies in US strategic reserve
WASHINGTON
Donald Trump has named 5 cryptocurrencies under consideration for a new U.S. "strategic reserve," sending their values skyrocketing and partly reversing a recent slump.
In a post to his Truth Social network, the U.S. president said on March 2 a working group he set up shortly after taking office is moving forward with the reserve, which will include 3 smaller cryptocurrencies: XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
The value of all three digital currencies shot up on the news, with XRP trading up around 34 percent at 1 p.m. local time in Washington. Solana gained around 22 percent and Cardano rose more than 63 percent.
A few minutes later, Trump posted again, noting that other valuable cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ether would be at "the heart of the Reserve," causing the price of the two major digital currencies to rise more than 10 percent and 12 percent respectively.
Trump's posts helped spur a broad rally among cryptocurrencies, which had plummeted in recent days as Trump's tariff threats and new scandals affecting the sector shook investor confidence in the highly volatile assets.
The March 2 posts are not the first time that Trump and those in his orbit have weighed in on the crypto sector.
Both Trump and his wife Melania recently launched their own branded meme coins, sparking accusations that they were seeking to make money from his political success.
And the billionaire chief executive Elon Musk, a close political ally whom Trump has tasked with leading a government efficiency drive, has frequently promoted cryptocurrencies on his own social media network, X.
