On March 2nd, US President Donald Trump announced that the newly established Crypto Strategic Reserve, designed to integrate these digital assets into the country's broader economic and financial plans, will include Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano. The market response for the time being was important. The prices of many of the mentioned cryptocurrencies have skyrocketed, reflecting both investor excitement and speculation.
Nevertheless, the decision to add various altcoins along with Bitcoin quickly sparked discussions among industry leaders and financial experts. Many have questioned the wisdom and long-term implications of such a broad approach.
Bitcoin not altcoins
The criticism was swift from Bitwise Alpha Strategy director Jeff Park, who described Trump's move as “a huge political miscalculation” and warned of internal trading assumptions about risk. The park also deserves standalone considerations, deserving unique status as BTC's best digital store. It should be noted that political optics can change at a disadvantage if strategic reserves feature cryptocurrencies with uncertain regulatory and technical foundations.
Park said: “A huge politically false calculation by Trump in underestimating how important it is for strategic preparation to focus solely on Bitcoin. Sad! Political opportunities are calculated by the small victory of new votes and the loss of old votes. This is why Elizabeth Warren's anti-crypto forces didn't make sense. You win 0 and lose 100. Trump is trying to understand that Bitcoin and Bitcoin are the only representations of the crypto land.”
He also highlighted the possibility of voter backlash, drawing parallels with past failures by politicians who tried to seek new districts without fully weighing the costs of alienating existing supporters. “The big problem here is optics. Including Altcoins, which cannot be considered early 'nationally strategic', puts the assumption of internal transactions at risk, even if it is patently false. This is politically negative, even among a subset of crypto enthusiasts,” he added.
Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, agreed to Park, saying at first he “imagined that a strategic reserve was merely a Bitcoin,” saying “Bitcoin is a worthless, valuable repository of the digital age.” Horsley pointed to the administration's openness to Crypto as a positive step, but argued that the term “reserve” means focusing on stability and global perception.
He suggested that adding altcoins could undermine the fundamental principle of having national reserves in the first place. “Many crypto assets have benefits, but what we're talking about here is not the US investment portfolio. We're talking about reserves, and BTC is a worthless, uncontroversial storage of the digital age. Of course, I'm grateful that the new administration is so constructive in the space. I look forward to learning more about the thoughts here,” he said.
In particular, other major figures in the crypto industry, which are not also considered “bitcoin maximalists,” agree with both Bitwise executives. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said, “Bitcoin is probably the only option and a clear story as Gold's successor,” and alternatives: Market Cap-weighted Index for a wider range of crypto exposures. “If people wanted more diversity, you could run a market capitalization weighted index on Crypto assets to maintain bias, but option #1 is probably the easiest,” Armstrong said.
Others have approached Trump's announcement from a more philosophical angle. “It's a mistake to mix only code-driven assets with human rights assets,” said David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark.
Similarly, longtime gold advocate and Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff has brought in surprising partial support for Bitcoin, saying, “We have a gold reserve, and Bitcoin is digital gold. But what is the rationale for the XRP reserve? Why is it necessary?”
At the time of pressing, BTC traded for $91,022.
Featured images created with dall.e, charts on tradingview.com
