Citi: U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve Gains Traction, But Key Details Remain Unclear
The likelihood of a U.S. crypto strategic reserve has increased following President Trump’s weekend announcement, according to a research report from Wall Street bank Citi (C) on Monday.
The President revealed that XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) would be included in the reserve, later expanding the list to include Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
“The potential for the U.S. government to become a strategic holder of digital assets would further validate the asset class and enhance its legitimacy,” wrote Citi analyst Alex Saunders.
Currently, the U.S. government holds approximately $19 billion in cryptocurrencies—predominantly in Bitcoin—compared to $750 billion in gold reserves, Citi noted. Since the majority of these holdings stem from asset seizures, any additional accumulation of digital assets would likely require direct purchases on the open market.
However, Citi cautioned that the criteria for asset selection remain unclear, and pre-announcing such acquisitions could create adverse price movements—similar to the U.K. government’s experience with gold sales in the late 1990s.
Further clarification on how tokens will be chosen for inclusion in the reserve would help strengthen the initiative, Citi added.
In a separate report last month, brokerage firm Bernstein suggested that the Federal Reserve could either issue debt or liquidate portions of its gold reserves to finance cryptocurrency purchases.
