US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a “cryptocurrency strategic reserve” has drawn skepticism from prominent figures in the crypto and technology industries, many of whom were part of his support base in the previous election cycle.
While the announcement initially triggered a jump in crypto trading, markets cooled on Monday as concerns about the implications of the plan surfaced.
Trump announced plans on Sunday to establish a government-backed reserve that includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano, claiming the move would help the United States become the “Crypto Capital of the World.”
But the initiative has drawn criticism, particularly over the inclusion of multiple cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and whether such government intervention contradicts traditional free market principles.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, the richest man in American crypto with a net worth of $9.6 billion, expressed his skepticism on X (formerly Twitter), suggesting that the reserve should focus solely on Bitcoin, which he called a “successor to gold” for the U.S. government.
Billionaire investor Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of AI-focused defense firm Palantir and a staunch Trump supporter, was even more critical. Responding to Trump’s post, Lonsdale condemned the plan, arguing that “it is wrong for crypto brokerage firms to tax themselves” and that government intervention in crypto markets is “not the proper, principled role of government.”
Notably, even those connected to Trump’s crypto chief David Sacks have voiced their disapproval of the plan. Jason Calacanis, Sacks’ co-host on the influential “All-In” podcast, called the move an example of “Trump Pump” and “a crazy scam.” Meanwhile, Jeff Park, a strategist at Bitwise, a crypto index fund manager in which Sacks’ venture capital firm was an early investor, called Trump’s decision to include multiple cryptocurrencies “a huge political miscalculation.”
*This is not investment advice.
