United News of Bangladesh

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a government reserve of bitcoin, a key marker in the cryptocurrency's journey towards possible mainstream acceptance. Under Trump's new order, the US government will retain the estimated 200,000 bitcoin it's already seized in criminal and civil proceedings, according to Trump's “crypto czar” David Sacks. “The US will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold,’” Sacks said on social media. The executive order calls for a “full accounting” of the government's bitcoin holdings, which Sacks said have never been fully audited. He added that the US government has previously sold off about 195,000 bitcoin over the last decade for $366 million. He said those bitcoins would be worth about $17 billion if the government hadn't sold them. Sacks said the order allows for the Treasury and Commerce Departments “to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin.” Once a skeptic who said a few years ago that bitcoin “seems like a scam,” Trump has embraced digital currencies and leaned into his unofficial role as the “ crypto president ” in ways that can both help the crypto industry and enrich himself and his family. Wealthy players in the crypto industry, who felt unfairly targeted by the Biden administration, spent heavily to help Trump win last year's election. Trump vows support for crypto industry at White House summit Establishing a bitcoin reserve was one of several crypto-related promises Trump made on the campaign trail last year. Trump is also pushing Congress to pass industry-friendly legislation, and under his administration the Securities and Exchange Commission has started dropping enforcement actions it had taken against some major crypto companies. On Friday, Trump is set to host many key industry leaders at a White House “Crypto Summit.” Bitcoin is the oldest and most popular cryptocurrency. Created in response to the 2008 financial crisis by an anonymous person or persons, bitcoin has blossomed from an experiment by libertarian cryptography enthusiasts into an asset with a market cap of about $1.7 trillion. While it hasn’t taken off as a way to pay for everyday things, bitcoin has found popularity as a store of value that’s not controlled by banks, governments or other powerful entities. Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million coins, a built-in scarcity that supporters say makes it a great hedge against inflation. Critics have long said bitcoin lacks any inherent value, but it’s so far defied naysayers with remarkable price increases. Some supporters of a strategic bitcoin reserve said it could one day help pay off the US national debt. Crypto prices soared after Trump’s victory last year, and when the price of bitcoin first crossed $100,000 in early December, Trump took credit and posted “YOU’RE WELCOME!!!” on social media. But prices have since cooled off. Trump's executive order did not equate to an immediate price spike for bitcoin, which was trading around $86,000 shortly after his announcement. The executive order also creates a “US Digital Asset Stockpile,” where the government will hold seized cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. On Sunday, Trump sent crypto prices on a short-lived surge after a surprise announcement that he wanted the government to hold lesser-known cryptocurrencies XRP, solana and cardano.

President Donald Trump said Friday he’s committed to making the US a world leader in cryptocurrencies as industry leaders heaped praise on him for reversing what they said had been unfair attacks on digital assets by the previous administration. “I thought it was very important that we stay in the front of this one,” Trump said at the first-ever White House “Crypto Summit.” A former crypto-skeptic, Trump has warmly embraced an industry that’s shown him significant love in return and spent heavily to help him win last year’s election. “It’s truly wonderful to see how things have changed and how the pendulum has swung back,” Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of the crypto exchange Gemini, told Trump. The summit included crypto company executives, cabinet officials and lawmakers, many of whom took turns raving about Trump’s leadership on digital assets. The emboldened industry said it was unfairly treated by the Biden administration and helped Trump and other Republicans score wins in the last election. Trump reiterated his eagerness to help the crypto industry with friendly legislation and light-touch regulations. Google leans further into AI-generated overviews for its search engine Friday’s summit was the latest in a series of actions the new Trump administration has taken to try and boost the crypto industry. Notably, that’s included the Securities and Exchange Commission dropping several enforcement actions against large crypto companies, including those whose leaders were at Friday’s summit. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order establishing a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” which essentially bars the US government from selling bitcoin – currently valued at about $17 billion – it has acquired through criminal and civil asset forfeiture.   The order also allows the Treasury and Commerce Departments to come up with “budget-neutral” plans for the government to acquire additional bitcoin, though no details of what those plans might look like have been released. The order is a significant boost for bitcoin’s credibility and legitimacy. The oldest and most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin has gone from an experiment by libertarian cryptography enthusiasts to an asset worth $1.7 trillion in less than two decades. “Bitcoin is special,” said David Sacks, the Trump administration’s “crypto czar,” told reporters Friday. Trump’s order also creates a “Digital Asset Stockpile,” where the government will hold seized cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. On Sunday, Trump sent crypto prices on a short-lived surge after a surprise announcement that he wanted the government to hold lesser-known cryptocurrencies XRP, solana and cardano. It’s unclear why Trump named those specific cryptocurrencies and not others. His announcement caused a stir in the crypto community about whether the government would pick winners and losers among various types of cryptocurrencies. Yesha Yadav, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, said it’s clear the Trump administration wanted to avoid getting dragged into that kind of fight with the way the executive order was worded. “It’s unsurprising that the Trump EO from yesterday has been quite neutral,” she said. Trump’s foray into crypto has included backing a personal meme coin and other ventures to enrich himself and his family. Those moves have drawn swift criticism from Democrats and even some crypto enthusiasts who support Trump. Sacks told reporters Friday that Trump’s personal crypto-related projects were “irrelevant” to the administration’s work related to the industry. That work, Sacks said, was focused on making the US the world capital in crypto through fair and clear regulations that promote innovation while still protecting investors. Sacks added his role was not to try and convince Americans to buy crypto. “You should do your homework because this is a very volatile industry,” Sacks said. “It’s not for everyone.”