Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan believes Bitcoin will dominate the reserve, and thinks the reserve’s final size will be much larger than people expected. The market reacted positively to the news but later turned cautious due to uncertainty about non-Bitcoin assets. Meanwhile, New Hampshire advanced its own Bitcoin reserve bill, joining several other states in integrating Bitcoin into public funds. However, Mt. Gox moved 12,000 BTC worth over $1 billion, raising speculation about upcoming creditor repayments. Trump’s Crypto Reserve Will Be Larger and Mostly Bitcoin Donald Trump’s proposed crypto reserve is expected to be made up almost entirely of Bitcoin , according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan. Despite including several large-market cap altcoins in the initial announcement, Hougan believes that, once finalized, the reserve will be nearly all Bitcoin. The market initially reacted positively to Trump’s plan, but sentiment soured because of the inclusion of other cryptocurrencies. According to Hougan, the decision to add smaller-cap assets made the rollout unnecessarily complicated, which led to confusion among investors. On March 2, Trump stated that the reserve will include Solana (SOL), XRP, and Cardano (ADA), and later clarified that Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) will form its core. Hougan, however, is still very confident that Bitcoin’s dominance in the reserve will increase over time and that the final size of the reserve will be larger than many expect. (Source: Bitwise ) Bitcoin’s price saw an initial boost after the announcement but later dipped below $83,000 before rebounding above $90,000. The shift away from a Bitcoin-only reserve also raised many concerns in the crypto community. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong argued that Bitcoin is the only asset suitable for a reserve, and called it the successor to gold. Hougan agreed with these concerns, and said that including speculative assets like Cardano seemed more like a political calculation than a strategic move. Despite the rocky rollout, Hougan suggested that the market may be misreading the situation. He believes that Trump’s initial proposals often undergo big changes before becoming final policy. The upcoming White House crypto summit could play a crucial role in shaping the reserve’s structure as input from industry leaders will likely influence the final composition. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also hinted at Bitcoin receiving a special status in the reserve, with other cryptocurrencies being treated differently but still positively. Hougan acknowledged the slim possibility that the reserve plan could be scrapped or limited to assets that were already seized by the government, though he considers this very unlikely. He also said that if the US moves forward with a crypto reserve, it could prompt other countries to follow suit and secure their own Bitcoin holdings. The likelihood of the US selling any crypto it acquires is low, regardless of future political shifts. Hougan believes that any Bitcoin purchased will be held long-term, similar to the country’s gold reserves. Even if a Democrat takes office after Trump, the political risk of liquidating the holdings would be high, as crypto has a strong voter base. Despite the market’s mixed reaction, Hougan is still convinced that the initial bullish sentiment was justified. He expects that, as more details emerge, the market will eventually come to the same conclusion and recognize the long-term bullish implications of Trump’s crypto reserve plan. New Hampshire Bitcoin Bill Advances Several US states are moving forward with their own Bitcoin reserve plans. A New Hampshire House committee recently approved a Bitcoin reserve bill in a landslide 16-1 vote, moving it closer to becoming law. House Bill 302 is now set for a full House vote, and makes New Hampshire one of seven states with active Bitcoin-related legislation advancing through the legislative process. The bill gives the state treasurer the discretion to invest up to 5% of the general fund, the revenue stabilization fund, or other authorized funds into eligible digital assets. While the bill does not explicitly mention Bitcoin, its provisions ensure that only digital assets with an average market cap of at least $500 billion over the past year qualify. Currently, Bitcoin is the only asset that meets this criterion. Any digital assets bought under the bill’s framework has to be held by a qualified custodian or through an exchange-traded product (ETP), ensuring a secure and regulated approach to investment. The bill also allows investments in precious metals, including gold, silver, and platinum. The bill was introduced by Republican Representative Keith Ammon on Jan. 10 and received bipartisan support. In fact, Democratic representatives Chris McAleer and Carry Spier co-sponsored the legislation. During the March 5 committee session, Ammon shared that the bill was amended to remove stablecoins and staking options. He also mentioned that New Hampshire Treasurer Monica Mezzapelle expressed interest in potentially investing in assets permitted under the bill if it becomes law. Originally, the bill proposed allocating up to 10% of the state’s assets to the investments, but this figure was reduced to 5% during the amendment process. State reserve race (Source: Bitcoin Laws ) New Hampshire now joins North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas in awaiting a full House vote on similar bills, while Utah and Arizona have already advanced Bitcoin-related legislation beyond this stage. With bipartisan support and an increasing focus on digital assets, the path toward Bitcoin integration in public funds seems to be gaining traction. Mt. Gox Moves 12,000 BTC Despite the optimism of people like Matt Hougan, Mt. Gox resumed moving Bitcoin. The company moved about 12,000 BTC worth more than $1 billion on March 6, which was the latest development in the long-running bankruptcy proceedings of the defunct exchange. Arkham Intelligence alerted users that the transaction originated from the Mt. Gox wallet, with a transaction fee of just $1.64. A portion of the funds, approximately 166.5 BTC valued at $15 million, was sent to a cold wallet. The remaining 11,834 BTC were moved to an unidentified address. Mt. Gox-linked wallets currently hold around 36,080 BTC, which is valued at approximately $3.26 billion, according to Arkham’s data. This latest transfer was the first major Bitcoin movement from the exchange in a month, with the last transaction involving a minor shuffle of 4 BTC between cold wallets. While the purpose of the latest transaction is still unclear, past movements of Mt. Gox’s Bitcoin holdings occasionally preceded creditor payouts. These payouts officially began in 2024. The exchange collapsed in early 2014 after a major hack and subsequent bankruptcy. Its trustee previously delayed the deadline for creditor repayments to Oct. 31, 2025, extending the long wait for those affected by the exchange’s failure. In December, Mt. Gox moved 1,620 BTC through a series of unknown wallets just weeks after transferring more than 24,000 BTC. Bitcoin’s price action over the past week (Source: CoinMarketCap ) The latest transfer happened during a week of heightened volatility in crypto markets, triggered in part by US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. Bitcoin’s price fluctuated between a high of $94,770 on March 3 and a low of $82,681 on March 4, before rebounding to reclaim the $90,000 level by March 5. At press time, BTC was trading at $92,175 after its price rose by more than 5% in the past 24 hours.
