America’s Crypto Reserve Revealed

🇺🇸 US Crypto Reserve Revealed: 97% Bitcoin, No XRP in Sight

The U.S. government’s crypto holdings have finally come into focus — and it’s overwhelmingly Bitcoin.

According to data obtained by The Washington Post from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, Bitcoin accounts for 97% of the United States’ $20.9 billion crypto reserve, with Ethereum, stablecoins, and a handful of altcoins making up the rest.

This comes after President Trump’s March executive order that formalized the creation of two digital entities: the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. The idea was to treat crypto, particularly Bitcoin, as a strategic national asset — much like oil or gold.

But what’s actually inside the vaults has surprised many.

Despite Trump publicly name-dropping XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) as part of his crypto strategy, none of those tokens appear in the top 20 holdings. Instead, the government’s stash includes BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, LINK, WBTC, DAI, BNB, and TRX — mostly coins seized in legal cases over the years.

“The composition reflects what’s most often seized — not what the administration necessarily wants,” said a Chainalysis spokesperson.

📌 Quick breakdown:

• Total value: $20.9B

• Bitcoin: ~$20.4B

• ETH & stablecoins: Combined 3%

• No XRP, SOL, or ADA

• Mostly seized assets, not direct purchases

This reserve puts the U.S. crypto stockpile just under the $25B value of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — a stunning milestone for an asset class that was once dismissed as fringe.

Still, not everyone’s cheering.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin warned that government custody of crypto “risks violating crypto’s original mission of decentralization.” NYU professor and crypto advisor Austin Campbell echoed the concern, calling it a “contradiction of the ethos.” Others questioned why seized crypto isn’t being used to reduce national debt or fund public programs instead of sitting in digital cold storage.

And yet, the trend is catching on. States like New Hampshire and Arizona have passed legislation to build their own crypto stockpiles. Florida and Wyoming opted out, citing volatility and fiscal risk.

The U.S. government isn’t just regulating crypto anymore. It’s hoarding it — and that might be the biggest shift yet.

🏛️ Regulation Watch

Thailand’s SEC is going after some of the biggest names in crypto.

On June 28, the regulator announced it would block access to Bybit, OKX, CoinEx, 1000X, and XT.COM, accusing them of operating without a license under the country’s Digital Asset Business Act.

Criminal complaints have already been filed with the Economic Crime Suppression Division, and the Ministry of Digital Affairs has been instructed to take enforcement action. The goal? To protect investors — and stop these platforms from becoming a backdoor for money laundering.

Investors have been warned to act fast. Assets on these platforms won’t be protected. If the shutdown proceeds, users could lose access with little recourse.

OKX was specifically named in the complaint. The SEC says the exchange promoted services to Thai users via Telegram, Twitter, and Line — all while charging trading fees without proper licensing. Nine individuals who allegedly helped market the platform locally are also facing charges.

In a statement to Cryptopolitan, OKX spokeperson responded:

Thailand’s SEC is now urging investors to double-check which platforms are licensed using its “Check First” app and Investor Alert database.

The message is clear: no license, no access. No matter how big the platform is.

📚 Read also: SEC agrees to throw out lawsuit against Binance after two years

📊 Market Watch: 

Gold sees sharpest weekly drop in 2 months, Oil slips again

Markets are on edge. Gold fell sharply this week, posting its biggest drop in nearly two months, while oil extended its decline for a second straight week. Traders are treading carefully ahead of new inflation data and an expected OPEC+ decision.

Gold futures for August delivery (GC=F) slid up to 0.8% on Friday, bringing the weekly loss close to 2%. Spot prices hovered near $3,300/oz by afternoon in Singapore.

What’s driving the drop?

• Traders are awaiting the U.S. PCE inflation report, a key Fed metric.

• Technical resistance at $3,328 was tested and failed — twice.

• A stronger Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added downward pressure.

“The price action in gold has twice failed to break above the key near-term resistance level of $3,328,” said Kelvin Wong, senior analyst at Oanda.

Still, gold hasn’t lost its safe haven appeal. Tensions with China flared again this week after the U.S. announced tighter restrictions on Chinese students and semiconductor tech exports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted talks with Beijing have “stalled.”

Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its long-term bullish stance, calling gold essential for hedging inflation, alongside crude oil.

Other metals like silver, palladium, and platinum also saw modest declines.

Crude oil drops ahead of OPEC+ meeting

Oil prices slipped again this week as the market braced for a potential output hike from OPEC+.

• Brent: down 0.33% to $63.94/barrel

• WTI: down 0.36% to $60.72/barrel

• Both benchmarks are down ~1.3% on the week

Why the weakness?

• Global oil surplus estimated at 2.2M barrels/day (JPMorgan)

• Anticipation of OPEC+ increasing production

• Renewed Trump tariffs reinstated Thursday, adding to volatility

• U.S. ordered firms to halt shipments of ethane, butane to China without licenses

Despite the dip, there was a silver lining. U.S. travel demand ticked up over Memorial Day, with JPMorgan noting a 400,000 bpd increase, though still below expectations.

With inflation data, trade tensions, and production decisions all converging, markets are likely to stay choppy heading into next week.

📚Read also: Only Trump and Xi can seal the deal as US China trade talks are “a bit stalled”, says Bessent

🔍 Protocol Watch

Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake is sounding the alarm: Bitcoin’s security model is broken and nobody’s talking about it.

In a post on X, Drake said Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work system relies too heavily on fees, which have been falling for 13 years. With miners now earning just ~6.5 BTC/day in fees — less than 1% of their revenue, the network’s long-term sustainability is in question.

“If Bitcoin gets taken over, the fallout could take the entire crypto ecosystem.”

Drake argues that even if Bitcoin hits $1M, static fees would still only cover 10% of today’s security budget, leaving a $20T asset potentially vulnerable to a $20B 51% attack.

Not everyone agrees.

Kushal Babel from Category Labs pushed back, saying fee concerns are exaggerated when measured in USD, not BTC. He believes the real focus should be on the cost of an attack in dollars, not fee ratios.

Drake doubled down, noting that past attempts to boost Bitcoin fees from Ordinals to Liquid all failed to deliver long-term results. He floated controversial fixes:

• Expand Bitcoin supply past 21M

• Shift to Proof-of-Stake

Neither, he admits, is likely to gain traction.

Other proposals? A Layer-2 Bitcoin on PoS, higher fee floors, or even donor-funded network security.

Bitcoin maxis weren’t impressed. Udi Wertheimer dismissed the concern, arguing Ethereum should fix its own issues before preaching.

“Drake’s worried about Bitcoin in 100 years. Ethereum’s struggling now.”

But the conversation is growing louder. Especially as Bitcoin approaches its final supply cap.

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