TD Cowen says Trump's crypto reserve announcement uncoordinated, lacks funding details
President Donald Trump's announcement on Sunday that the U.S. will establish a "crypto strategic reserve" holding Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana and Cardano appears uncoordinated and lacks clarity on funding, according to investment bank TD Cowen.
"We caution against overreacting to the social media post. The original version did not even include Bitcoin and Ether as part of the reserve. That suggests to us it was not coordinated," TD Cowen's Washington Research Group, led by Jaret Seiberg, wrote in a note on Monday. "There was also no discussion of how the government would get the funds to buy tokens," the research group added, raising questions about the plan's feasibility.
TD Cowen also downplayed the significance of calling it a "reserve" versus a "stockpile," noting that it remains unclear whether the U.S. government plans to buy tokens or simply retain seized crypto assets.
Trump's crypto reserve announcement fueled an immediate market rally , but it also drew skepticism. Some have questioned the selection of tokens , with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, for instance, suggesting that only Bitcoin should be included in the reserve.
White House's first crypto summit
Trump's announcement comes ahead of the White House's first-ever crypto summit , set for Friday and hosted by crypto czar David Sacks. Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks, and major industry figures and investors are expected to attend.
"We believe this summit is important as it will expose how Team Trump intends to advance stable coin and crypto market structure legislation," TD Cowen said. "Our view remains that only a bipartisan solution can provide the crypto sector the legal stability it needs."
Meanwhile, the Senate Banking Committee is preparing to mark up stablecoin legislation next week, with a goal of passing a bill within Trump's first 100 days. While TD Cowen acknowledges the momentum, it remains skeptical about Congress moving this quickly.
"We appreciate the need for speed, but worry that this might be too fast to produce an effective bill," TD Cowen said. "Key for us is what it means for the ability of banks to issue stable coins and if stablecoins need to be interoperable."
