XRP is emerging as a potential crypto asset for the proposed U.S. crypto reserve following President Donald Trump’s recent executive order.
On Thursday, Trump signed the long-awaited order to create a Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. The group, led by venture capitalist David Sacks (the White House’s crypto czar), includes key financial leaders and will advise Trump on crypto policy.
Notably, the order directs the group to consider a “strategic national digital assets stockpile.” However, it does not specify any particular cryptocurrencies, leaving room for speculation about which assets could be included alongside Bitcoin, which is already favored.
Commenting on the new order, Senator Cynthia Lummis, a key advocate for U.S. Bitcoin holdings, reiterated her optimism:
“I told you this was the year for Bitcoin and digital assets,” suggesting a development that favors other crypto assets alongside Bitcoin.
I told you this was the year for Bitcoin and digital assets.
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) January 24, 2025
XRP Under Consideration Alongside Bitcoin
Interestingly, mentions of XRP are leading discussions in the crypto community as a likely candidate in the upcoming crypto reserve.
In a tweet, Scott Melker, the host of “The Wolf Of All Streets” podcast with over 1 million followers, remarked that he had heard from “reliable channels” that the strategic stockpile under consideration includes Bitcoin and XRP.
“Not a joke. We will see,” he added.
Notably, a major factor supporting XRP’s case is its American origin. As reported earlier, sources suggest President Trump favors an American-first crypto reserve, supporting crypto assets by American founders like XRP, Cardano, and Solana.
The absence of any specific mention of Bitcoin, but the broader reference to “digital assets” in the order signed by President Trump, gives further credence to this speculation.
With XRP standing as a crypto asset with legal clarity from the court, the XRP Army believes even more strongly in XRP’s inclusion in the upcoming U.S. crypto reserve.
Ripple CEO Advocates for Reserve with Other Assets Like XRP
Moreover, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse advocates for a U.S. crypto reserve that includes not only Bitcoin but other crypto technologies. He argues that this would make sense from a diversification standpoint.
Meanwhile, this optimism has raised eyebrows among critics, particularly within the Bitcoin community.
Pierre Rochard, VP of Research at Riot Platforms, a Bitcoin mining firm, argues that the biggest obstacle to the proposed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) is not the Federal Reserve or political critics like Elizabeth Warren.
According to Rochard, it’s Ripple and XRP. He claims that Ripple is aggressively “lobbying against” the SBR by funneling millions of dollars to politicians to derail the initiative. He alleged that Ripple aims to protect their marketing narrative and push for central bank digital currencies on its platform.
It is worth noting that the order signed by Trump nullifies any efforts to establish or promote CBDCs in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has countered Rochard’s claims. He stated critics like him may be overlooking the core principles of Trump’s campaign, which strongly supported American companies and technologies.
Garlinghouse argues that, contrary to these claims, Ripple’s efforts are actually increasing the likelihood of a crypto strategic reserve that includes Bitcoin.
Unless you are choosing to ignore the core tenants of the POTUS campaign (which aggressively supports American companies and technologies), our efforts are actually INCREASING the likelihood of a crypto strategic reserve (which includes bitcoin) happening.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) January 23, 2025
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