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Bitcoin Gets Its Own Reserve |
President Donald Trump's order to establish a bitcoin (BTC) reserve is meant to set up the original cryptocurrency as a U.S. reserve asset that deserves special treatment apart from other crypto assets, according to a senior White House official.
The order's additional crypto stockpile of other assets will only gather those obtained by the U.S. government in seizures, the official said on Friday, hours before an afternoon crypto summit at the White House. The bitcoin reserve, which the official said will start with an estimated 200,000 bitcoin currently in government hands, could get active investment in the future, if senior administration officials can find ways to put new money in without leaning on taxpayer funds. Meanwhile, the federal government will embark on an audit to figure out exactly how much it currently has in crypto that will be moved to the new funds, the official said. The reserve — also including the second stockpile for all other crypto assets — will only hold digital assets seized through criminal and civil cases and not yet an active buying program, which came as a disappointment to some industry observers. The White House maintains that a lack of foresight about holding on to previously seized crypto has cost the U.S. about $17 billion. The new reserve will plan to hold the bitcoin for an undefined long period of time. The administration sees bitcoin as the most decentralized cryptocurrency that's protected from hackers, limited in supply and has a high value, the official said. Because executive orders such as the one that calls for this new reserve aren't permanent law, the official said additional legislative action would be welcome to cement the action. The official also addressed the industry frenzy that erupted after Trump posted days ago about other assets being part of his reserve plan, saying the sector read too much into the president's roll call of popular crypto assets. The several assets he mentioned by name were listed because of their high market caps, the person said. |
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XRP, Solana and ADA Fall on Reserve Reveal |
Cardano's ADA, XRP and Solana's SOL slid on Friday March 7 (Eastern Time) after a White House official backpedaled on President Trump's recent announcement that he would sign an executive order instructing the Presidential Working Group to move forward with the creation of strategic crypto reserve comprised of ADA, XRP, SOL, bitcoin and ether. "I think the president just gave five examples of cryptocurrencies in his post. Those five have to be the largest by market cap," the senior White House official said in a call with reporters ahead of Friday's White House Crypto Summit. "I think people are reading into that a little bit too much. The bottom line is, I think that what we've announced here is consistent with what the president has always said about the space." According to data from CoinGecko, the official's assertion isn't strictly true. Taking out the two largest stablecoins – Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC – the five largest cryptocurrencies by market cap are bitcoin, ether, XRP, Binance's BNB, and SOL. Dogecoin is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, with ADA right behind it. In a March 2 social media post, Trump claimed that a "U.S. crypto reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks from Biden Administration." The announcement that it would include SOL, ADA and XRP was met with criticism from many in the industry, who expressed concerns that the inclusion of altcoins in a strategic reserve could be a vehicle for corruption and self-dealing. On March 6, Trump signed an order directing his administration to create a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, capitalized with the U.S. government's seized bitcoin holdings. The crypto stockpile containing other cryptocurrencies will be a separate entity. ADA plunged over 5% to $0.82 in the minutes following his comments. XRP slid 3.5% to $2.41, while SOL was down 2%. All three tokens are firmly down over the past 24 hours alongside a weak crypto market. Meanwhile, BTC slumped to $87,000 giving up early morning gains. Senior executives from across the crypto industry have convened in Washington, D.C. for the White House's first crypto summit on Friday afternoon. Crypto companies including Ripple, Gemini, Robinhood Crypto, Crypto.com, Chainlink and Anchorage will be in attendance. |
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Fold Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLD) has increased its bitcoin (BTC) treasury by 475 BTC, bringing its total holdings to over 1,485 BTC.
This move secures Fold's position among the top ten U.S. public companies with the largest bitcoin treasuries. Acquiring bitcoin through a convertible note at a 100% premium, Fold reinforces its strategy of bridging traditional finance with the bitcoin economy.
CEO Will Reeves emphasized the company’s commitment to driving shareholder value and supporting bitcoin-native financial services. As bitcoin adoption grows globally.
“We believe Bitcoin will play a key role in the foundation of a new financial era, and Fold will help lead the way,” said Will Reeves, chief executive officer of Fold. |
Co-working summits at the mtnDAO hacker house come and go. But mtnCapital trades forever.
The monthlong Solana developer meetup will launch its token ($MTN) at the end of March, co-founders Barrett and Edgar Pavlovsky exclusively told CoinDesk. That much was always expected from a famously pro-token team. More intriguing is what the token does.
MTN is to be the flagship asset of mtnCapital, an experimental on-chain investment fund governed by a markets-centric form of governance called futarchy. A version pioneered by MetaDAO's been infecting the brains of Solana maximalists since debuting at mtnDAO's winter 2024 co-working meetup.
Believers in futarchy think it can disrupt all bastions of decision-making, from capital markets to nation states, and certainly crypto groups called DAOs, by placing the wisdom of markets over voters. MtnCapital will test whether an investment fund governed by the markets can actually deliver returns worth the risk. It will make decisions based on movements of its MTN token. Simply put: If traders think a proposal (invest $100,000 in BTC, perhaps) will be good for mtnCapital, they'll push MTN higher, and it will pass. Conversely, if they think the trade will be bad for mtnCapital, they'll push MTN lower, and it will fail.
Begone, one person, one vote. MtnCapital will be shaped by traders with big bags and a penchant for staring at order books.
"I really think it's going to outperform VC funds," Barrett said. MtnCapital will raise its entire treasury by selling its full stack of MTN tokens to the public.
What happens to that treasury is completely up to the market. The two founders say they will have as much, or as little, influence over mtnCapital as anyone else when it launches. If they want it, they'll need to buy it; There's no airdrop or founder allocation.
"We see futarchy as the holy grail of decentralizations where the founders of the project don't have control because they don't have tokens," Barrett said. |
Opinion: Bybit's Staking Losses |
Bohdan Opryshko, Chief Operating Officer of Everstake:
The $1.5 billion hack of Bybit — the largest in crypto history — has put the entire industry on high alert. The attack, reportedly carried out by North Korea's Lazarus Group, resulted in the theft of over 401,000 ETH, reinforcing the reality that no exchange is safe from sophisticated cyber threats, and any platform can be at risk. Bybit’s response is critical. The positive takeaway is that Bybit has re-established a 1:1 asset backing for its clients and closed the “ether gap.” However, this temporary situation — where users shoulder the burden of centralized exchange (CEX) security failures could drive staking participants toward self-custody, keeping only the bare minimum on exchanges for transactions. While the full fallout of this breach is still unfolding, it may serve as a catalyst for both retail and institutional staking participants to rethink their strategies. Here’s how the hack could reshape staking. Potential Staking Losses The hack resulted in the theft of approximately 400,000 ETH, which is nearly $1 billion in losses at an average price of $2,600 per ETH. Beyond the immediate financial hit, the Ethereum staking yield — hovering around 4% annually — means a loss of roughly 16,000 ETH in yearly staking rewards. For perspective, if these stolen ETH were spread out across 100 stakers, each would have lost 160 ETH in rewards. This is a significant blow, particularly for retail investors who may lack the financial resilience to absorb such losses. Declining Staking Share on Centralized Exchanges The Bybit hack may be a turning point for the crypto industry, highlighting the risks of staking on centralized platforms. The trend is already visible in recent data: in the last six months, the amount of staked ETH on centralized exchanges has dropped from 8,597,984 ETH in September 2024 to 8,024,288 ETH in February 2025, representing a 6.67% decline. This change comes amid growing concerns about security and transparency on centralized platforms. Additionally, following the hack from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23, staked ETH on CEXs fell by 0.56%, while on-chain staking (excluding CEXs) increased by 0.31%. This suggests a shift in the staking landscape, with users increasingly moving their assets away from centralized exchanges to more secure, non-custodial staking solutions or hardware wallets. This change could have long-term implications for the crypto market. Centralized exchanges, which have long dominated the staking ecosystem, may see their influence wane. As stakers migrate to decentralized alternatives, CEXs’ roles in governance, reward distribution, and network upgrades could diminish. In the long-term, this may result in the reshaping of the staking market, with decentralized alternatives taking center stage. Institutional Adoption at Risk High-profile hacks like Bybit's inevitably make institutional investors more cautious about entering the crypto market. When auditors evaluate staking products, including ETH ETFs, billion-dollar security breaches can prompt legal and compliance teams to hit the brakes on crypto allocations.
This stagnation could push back the timeline for achieving new price highs and delaying broader adoption. Given the rising threat of hacks, it is crucial for both retail and institutional investors to embrace audited and certified self-custody solutions. Securing assets through non-custodial wallets and decentralized platforms can significantly mitigate the risks posed by centralized exchanges. At the same time, exchanges need to work to rebuild trust by enhancing their security measures, conducting regular audits, and offering insurance schemes for users affected by breaches. Moreover, the entire crypto community — including developers, exchanges, regulators, and users — needs to come together to balance innovation with security. This collaboration is essential for the long-term viability of the industry. By strengthening the overall security infrastructure, we can create an environment where both retail and institutional participants can confidently engage with the crypto market. |
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