U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve has ignited fierce debate across crypto communities and traditional finance.
Prominent American economist and Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff is arguing that the move was influenced by donor pressure and conflicting cabinet interests.
Trump’s Executive Order
President Trump formalized plans to create the reserve on March 6 via an executive order . The initiative will hold nearly 200,000 BTC seized by U.S. law enforcement throughout the years, with none being sold but instead kept as a sort of “digital Fort Knox” to preserve its value.
Furthermore, the order also includes provisions for a digital asset stockpile that will hold altcoins like Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, and XRP. However, the government has clarified that it will not actively buy additional assets for the stockpile, instead relying on forfeitures. It also stopped short of allowing new BTC purchases unless the coins were acquired at no cost to taxpayers.
Critics like Schiff claim the decision is driven by political and financial interests. According to him, Trump was under pressure from conflicted cabinet members and donors, of which the crypto community made a sizable chunk, donating upwards of $22 million towards his re-election.
“Under pressure from his donors and conflicted cabinet members, Trump just signed a bogus executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve using the Bitcoin the government already owns,” wrote Schiff.
His concerns went beyond the reserve itself. He criticized the idea suggested by some of selling gold to fund BTC purchases, insisting that such sales would constitute a cost. “Paying for Bitcoin for gold is the same as paying cash,” he posted on X. However, some supporters countered that the move involves opportunity costs rather than direct taxpayer expenses.
Only recently did the financial commentator reluctantly acknowledge the logic behind a Bitcoin reserve, even though he dismissed the need for altcoins like XRP, calling them unnecessary.
A New Era for Bitcoin?
Despite Schiff’s latest opposition, some see a national Bitcoin reserve as a milestone for the cryptocurrency’s adoption. Joe Burnett, Head of Market Research at Unchained, described Trump’s order as the start of the integration era for the asset.
“With the establishment of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, the U.S. has taken its first real step toward integrating Bitcoin into the fabric of global finance,” said the analyst.
Additionally, Burnett predicts that new financial offerings and deeper institutional exposure to BTC will come out of the move.
“Expect to see new financial products designed around Bitcoin, from reserve-backed lending mechanisms to cross-border settlements that bypass outdated systems,” he asserted.
In his opinion, Trump has set the trajectory for other nations, and he expects some to follow suit and lead while others will resist and risk being left behind.
