Media reports revealed Donald Trump's plans to issue an executive order on January 20, designating cryptocurrency as a national priority. The establishment of a digital asset advisory council is also planned to advocate for the industry's political priorities. Reports have denied circulating information about Trump's desire to create a ”national reserve of American altcoins.” The elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, intends to issue an executive order elevating cryptocurrencies to a priority in policy and giving industry representatives a voice in his administration, according to Bloomberg sources. According to the agency, crypto assets will become a national priority. This status calls for government agencies to collaborate with the industry. The creation of a cryptocurrency advisory council is also planned to advocate for the industry's political priorities. Trump enjoys strong support in the crypto sector due to his promises to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler, create a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and generally be loyal to the industry. Several major players in the digital asset ecosystem have made significant donations to the elected president's inauguration fund. The order marks a shift in attitude towards the crypto sector, which has faced persecution in recent years. The SEC has filed over 100 lawsuits against cryptocurrency-related companies, and banking regulators have complicated their operations with traditional financial institutions. According to Bloomberg, discussions are currently ongoing regarding including directives in the order that would require all federal agencies to review their policies on digital assets and possibly suspend legal actions. On January 15, it became known that the SEC under Donald Trump's administration may review lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies in the early days and even withdraw some that are currently under consideration. Initial initiatives in the U.S. after Trump's inauguration may address ”debanking” industry companies and accounting rules for digital assets (SAB 121). The creation of a national reserve of the first cryptocurrency is also being explored. The document could appear on the day of the president's inauguration on January 20; however, the current version is not final. ”I think Donald Trump is going to signal that the United States is back and ready to lead in this industry,” commented Kara Calvert, head of U.S. policy at Coinbase. Trump will not create a reserve of XRP, SOL, USDC? On January 16, the New York Post reported that Trump is considering forming a strategic reserve of ”U.S.-created” digital assets such as SOL, USDC, and XRP. In recent weeks, he has met with founders of these projects. Insiders from the newspaper expressed skepticism about this idea since it would shift focus away from Bitcoin. However, Unchained sources refuted information about the future U.S. president's desire to create an ”altcoin reserve.” Ripple's Senior Director of Communications Susan Hendrick confirmed to the publication that CEO Brad Garlinghouse urged Trump to diversify potential cryptocurrency reserves beyond BTC. In early January, news emerged about their dinner meeting. On January 15, Axios published Trump's comments made to representatives of an unnamed company. ”You guys made a certain amount of money last year, and now thanks to me, you’ll make a lot more. But when I needed you, where the hell were you? You weren't there for me; maybe you were with her [Kamala Harris],” he said. According to Unchained, the conversation took place with representatives from Ripple. The company's CLO Stewart Alderoti denied this information. ”Wow, unnamed sources? Here’s a named source: me. The rumors published by this third-tier crypto rag are pure fiction. Completely made up.I wonder who’s behind this?”, he stated. In October 2024, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen sent $1 million in XRP to a political action committee (PAC) supporting Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. XRP dynamics Amid rumors about adding XRP to the U.S. national reserve, the coin's price demonstrated rapid upward movement. On January 16, the crypto asset approached its historical maximum of $3.4 on Bitfinex, Kraken, and Binance for the first time since January 2018. In January 2018, XRP reached $3.31 on Bitstamp and remained below that price for seven years. In mid-January 2025, Santiment analysts noted that large whale purchases were the main growth factor. Experts highlighted ”significant accumulation” of assets by wallets holding between 1 million XRP and 10 million XRP. Since November 12, 2024, the number of coins on whale addresses has increased by 1.43 billion—37.4% of their total balances. Coinbase premium Despite Trump's apparent desire to make cryptocurrencies a national priority, Bitcoin is trading at a slight discount on Coinbase compared to Binance. This indicates moderate demand for digital gold in the U.S. The indicator reflects the price difference of Bitcoin on American exchanges compared to Binance. The higher the value, the stronger demand for Bitcoin in the U.S. relative to the rest of the world. It should be noted that experts from K33 Research stated in mid-January that Trump's inauguration is already an ”overplayed” event.
