Trump Designates 5 Major Virtual Assets as Strategic Reserves… Intention to Build ‘US-Led Ecosystem’

It has been analyzed that the intention behind former U.S. President Donald Trump designating the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization as strategic reserve assets is to create a U.S.-led cryptocurrency ecosystem.

According to the industry on the 4th, the cryptocurrencies that Trump ordered as strategic reserve assets on the 3rd - BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA - are all ranked within the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. As of 4:47 pm on the 4th based on CoinMarketCap, their rankings are 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th, respectively.



The selected cryptocurrencies have the common characteristics of operating independent networks and building stable ecosystems. BTC has solidified its status as digital gold, ETH has formed the foundation of a decentralized ecosystem as a second-generation blockchain, SOL is leading the meme coin market with fast transaction processing and low fees, XRP offers an efficient payment solution between financial institutions, and ADA presents itself as a platform based on academic research.

Industry sources are paying attention to the fact that the remaining cryptocurrencies, excluding BTC and ETH, are all U.S.-based projects. Kim Byung-jun, a researcher at Dispread, said, "By including cryptocurrencies created by U.S. companies and developers as strategic reserve assets, the intention to restructure this industry around the U.S. has been revealed," and added, "It contains an aggressive strategy beyond simple asset diversification." Oh Tae-wan, CEO of INF Crypto Lab, predicted that the inclusion of XRP and SOL as strategic assets "will play a critical role in making the U.S. a cryptocurrency hub."

After Trump's announcement, major cryptocurrency projects excluded from the selection have been emphasizing their 'U.S. affiliation.' In particular, the response of the Polygon (POL) project, ranked 42nd in market capitalization, is noteworthy. Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, questioned on his Twitter account, "Polygon Labs, the Polygon development company, is headquartered in the U.S., and the CEO, CLO, COO, and CPO are all American. What are the requirements for a cryptocurrency to be recognized as American?"

Mark Beylin, CEO of Polygon Labs, also emphasized the connection with the U.S., saying, "More than half of Polygon's employees reside in the U.S." This claim is in contrast to Polygon's previous position when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classified Polygon as a 'security asset' in 2023, arguing that Polygon was "developed outside the U.S. and circulated in regions other than the U.S."

Avalanche (AVAX), ranked 16th in market capitalization, emphasized that it already has substantial cooperative relationships with U.S. government agencies. An Avalanche representative said, "Regardless of whether it is included in the list, Avalanche has already been used as the basis for the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief funds, and is a leading candidate for the development of stablecoins in Wyoming state, which is currently under review." He added, "We expect Avalanche's role in U.S. government blockchain projects to expand in the future."

In contrast, Chainlink (LINK), ranked 14th in market capitalization, took a relatively cautious stance. Chainlink said, "We cannot comment on specific tokens, including LINK, in accordance with legal guidelines," but added, "We can provide our views on the effects of the government's adoption of blockchain technology and the U.S.'s crypto-friendly stance on the global market in the future."

The industry interprets Trump's latest remarks as a move to strengthen the U.S.'s influence and secure dominance in the global cryptocurrency industry, beyond a simple asset reserve strategy. CEO Oh said, "This announcement, which includes not only Bitcoin but also altcoins like Ethereum, is to create a U.S.-centric cryptocurrency ecosystem," and explained, "Policy on altcoins is necessary to secure entrepreneurs who can innovate not only in companies, but also in the internet as a whole."

Reporter Doyeri

yeri.do@sedaily.com