President Donald Trump Announces Trump Crypto Reserve, Including XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA)

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 23: David Sacks, U.S. President Donald Trump’s AI and Crypto Czar, listens … [+] to President Trump sign a number of executive orders.

President Donald Trump’s recent announcement regarding the Trump Crypto Reserve, which includes XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA), has ignited a significant wave of discussion, speculation, and debate.

This follows up on a previous post, just minutes ago, which stated that President Trump’s administration is planning to add bitcoin and ethereum to the U.S. crypto reserve.

Of the three tokens mentioned by Trump, XRP is the most well-known, often touted for its liquidity and wide adoption among retail traders. It’s also the only token on the list that is not a Layer-1 blockchain, instead serving as a bridge between different networks.

Solana, known for its high throughput and low transaction fees, has seen increased adoption in the DeFi and NFT sectors. However, Solana’s network has suffered several outages in recent years, raising concerns among those seeking a truly decentralized and secure monetary network.

Cardano, on the other hand, prides itself on its academic foundation and peer-reviewed codebase. Cardano’s ADA token is the native currency of the Cardano blockchain, and it’s used for paying transaction fees and securing the network through Proof-of-Stake.

Bitcoin, uniquely distinguished by its liquidity, security, and true decentralization, is notably absent from this initial list.

This oversight is puzzling, especially in light of Trump’s previous public statements and commitments to including bitcoin in any U.S. digital asset holdings.

The president’s crypto policy advisors—Sacks, who is also in charge of AI policy, and Executive Director Bo Hines—have shown limited knowledge, if not outright confusion, regarding digital asset technology.

This is evident in the poorly timed launch of $TRUMP and $MELANIA coins before the inauguration, an attempt to quickly capitalize on the president’s name in the hopes of attracting attention to the administration’s broader agenda.

However, there exists a clear disconnect between the White House’s assertions and the real-world implications. As Sacks continues to manage “crypto” policy, it opens the door to errors that may hinder bitcoin’s progress and mislead consumers.

The various scandals and mishaps that have impacted the broader digital asset landscape will likely carry over to negatively affect the public’s perception of bitcoin.

Essentially, there is a tangible risk that the White House’s renewed focus on “crypto” could overshadow the far more pertinent narrative surrounding bitcoin.

The Promise and the Problem

The idea of a national digital asset reserve, even if it includes tokens that lack bitcoin’s fundamental advantages, is not entirely unfounded.

One could argue that introducing retail investors, institutions, and policymakers to the concept of buying and holding digital assets can ultimately ease the pathway to bitcoin adoption. This obstacle is significant in the U.S., where several politicians still view “cryptocurrency” as a single entity.

However, we have seen positive developments when governments take a well-considered approach, as evidenced by Texas’s ongoing deliberations about potentially establishing its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Eventually, policymakers will recognize that bitcoin’s liquidity far surpasses that of nearly all other digital assets, and a strong state-level treasury featuring bitcoin could emerge as a critical factor in economic resilience.

In contrast, Trump’s proposal reflects a considerable lack of discernment.

By including relatively illiquid tokens with market capitalization substantially lower than that of bitcoin, Sacks’s team introduces a multitude of new challenges. Just last week, bitcoin’s daily trading volume reached tens of billions of dollars.

In comparison, XRP, SOL, and ADA appeal primarily to hobbyist traders who can instigate significant price fluctuations and liquidity crunches with modest trades. Furthermore, the Solana network has experienced intermittent outages, while XRP is governed by a group of insiders.

The political repercussions of a failed crypto project could be detrimental, both for the Trump administration and for Americans hoping to benefit from the financial freedom that bitcoin provides.

Should one or more of these tokens falter after the White House links a portion of the U.S. reserve to them, Trump’s team might face scrutiny over “poor crypto choices” or, worse, the kind of embarrassing scandals that have befallen past administrations due to misguided economic policies.

Within the broader digital asset arena, we have observed how failures of tokens can trigger swift regulatory crackdowns, criminal investigations, and a general public disenchantment with blockchain-based technologies.

The collapse of Terra in 2022 reverberated globally, and the FTX scandal continues to echo through the corridors of Washington power. Whenever such downfalls occur, politicians scramble for cover, fresh regulations are hastily implemented, and genuine technological advancements risk being drowned out by the surrounding chaos.

This highlights a significant issue: confusion within the marketplace. When a sitting president suggests that all “digital assets” offer similar utility or stability, it causes a blurring of distinctions, perpetuating the idea that “bitcoin is merely one crypto among many.”

This is misleading for individuals who conflate an innovation with a proven