The proposed U.S. crypto strategic reserve is expected to be announced Friday, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, with Bitcoin set to hold a unique status while other cryptocurrencies will be “treated differently.”
Speaking to news outlet The Pavlovic Today, Lutnick said that, “A Bitcoin strategic reserve is something the President’s interested in,” adding that, “He spoke about it all during the campaign trail, and I think you’re going to see it executed on Friday.”
The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request from Decrypt for further comment.
Lutnick discussed the status of other cryptocurrencies earmarked for a U.S. strategic crypto reserve, stating that, “Bitcoin is one thing, and then the other currencies, the other crypto tokens, I think, will be treated differently—positively, but differently.”
In a Sunday post on his Truth Social account, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would create a “crypto reserve” including XRP, Solana and Cardano, adding in a follow-up post that, “obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable cryptocurrencies, will be at the heart of the reserve.”
The move follows his campaign promise to create a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile,” though the decision to include altcoins in the proposed reserve sparked disquiet among some corners of the crypto industry, with investment firm Bernstein criticized the “unclear” rationale for doing so, while Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong argued that, “Just Bitcoin would probably be the best option.”
The expected announcement of the U.S. strategic crypto reserve on Friday would coincide with the White House’s first crypto summit, with confirmed attendees including Armstrong, Kraken CEO Arjun Sethi, Strategy chairman Michael Saylor, Multicoin Capital managing partner Kyle Samani, and Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang.
Set to be chaired by AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, the gathering is the first in a series of sporadic crypto summits that will essentially replace President Donald Trump’s promised “crypto council,” abandoned due to industry infighting over priorities.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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