Source: Vernacular Blockchain

The United States is setting a precedent. According to a post posted by White House cryptocurrency director David Sacks on X, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order on March 6 to clearly establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve. It is just that the order requires a comprehensive inventory of federally held Bitcoins and does not involve other Bitcoins on the market (over the years, the United States has accumulated 200,000 Bitcoins through various legal cases, currently worth about $17 billion).

This incident caused a shock in the market, and Bitcoin fell 5% to about $85,000 after the news was announced. At the same time, it has also sparked extensive discussions about its economic value, legal basis and geopolitical impact.

This article will explore this development in depth: from the post-World War II gold reserve system to the impact of U.S. crypto reserves on global finance, currency and law.

01Historical Background: From gold to crypto assets

The concept of currency reserves has a long history. After the end of World War II, the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement established an international monetary system with gold as its core and pegs the US dollar to gold with a fixed exchange rate of US$35 per ounce. At that time, the United States controlled about two-thirds of the world's gold reserves, which established the US dollar's position as the pillar of the global financial system. Under this gold exchange standard, currencies in various countries are anchored by the US dollar, and the US dollar can be directly converted to gold. The system has provided financial stability over the next two decades and has driven global economic growth.

However, in the late 1960s, the U.S. was under pressure due to a sustained balance of payments deficit and surge in U.S. dollar demand. In August 1971, President Nixon announced a suspension of the exchange of US dollar and gold, officially ending the Bretton Woods system, and opening a new era of floating fiat currency. Since then, the US dollar has become a pure fiat currency, supported only by credit.

Despite the disintegration of the Bretton Woods system, U.S. gold reserves remain an important asset to the central bank. As of today, the U.S. official gold reserves are still as high as 8,133 metric tons (the largest in the world), which is the legacy of the Bretton Woods era.

The long-term attractiveness of gold lies in its anti-inflation and safe-haven properties. Gold has soared to about $1,900/ounce since 1944, reflecting decades of expansion of fiat currency. At the same time, the modern financial system is developing around the US dollar, and the US dollar remains the global dominant reserve currency.

As of mid-2023, the US dollar accounted for about 59% of global foreign exchange reserves (a gradual decline compared to more than 70% in early 2000, indicating that reserve assets are diversifying).

The main international reserve assets today include: foreign exchange reserves (mainly US dollars, euros, Japanese yen, etc.), special mentions launched by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1969Rights (SDR), gold.

The rise of Bitcoin and "digital gold"

In 2009, Bitcoin (Bitcoin) was born. As a decentralized digital currency, its total supply is constant at 21 million coins, which is regarded as "digital gold" by many people. For most of the 2010s, cryptocurrencies were still niche investments, but by the 2020s, the total market value of the crypto market had reached trillions of dollars and attracted the attention of mainstream institutions.

In 2021, El Salvador became the first in the world to use Bitcoin as a fiat currency, and its treasury currently holds more than 5,700 BTC (Salvador launches a $360 million Bitcoin treasury monitoring website). At the same time, private companies such as MicroStrategy and Tesla have also included Bitcoin in their balance sheets, and dozens of investment funds have launched crypto-related products. As the influence of Bitcoin and other crypto assets continues to rise, people have begun to discuss whether they can play a gold-like role in reserves.

American politicians, such as Senator Cynthia Lummis, even proposed the idea of ​​establishing a "strategic reserve of Bitcoin" to ensure a certain amount of Bitcoin is held. She submitted a bill to Congress in 2024, proposing to purchase up to 1 million BTC (about 5% of the total Bitcoin supply) as a strategic asset and hedging tool. Although the bill failed to advance at the time, the concept laid the foundation for new and recent decisions.

02 Economic and geopolitical impact of US cryptocurrency reserves

The US wants to establish crypto asset reserves, and the market responded quickly to this news. A few days ago, President Trump announced that Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano would be included in the U.S. strategic reserves, which immediately triggered a surge in the crypto market—the price of Bitcoin rose by more than 11% (to about $94,000), Ethereum rose by 13% (to about $2,516), and the market value of the entire crypto market increased by more than $300 billion in hours. This surge reflects a common view among investors: endorsement may enhance the credibility and durability of these crypto assets.

21Shares analyst Federico Brokate pointed out: "This move shows that the United States is actively participating in the crypto economy." In other words, the United States is using its influence to influence the future direction of the crypto market.

1) Currency and fiscal stability: Opportunities and challenges

Bosses believe that crypto asset reserves can enhance U.S. fiscal resilience. Senator Cynthia Lummis said Bitcoin could serve as a hedge against inflation and Treasury inflation, and when prices rise, it could sell some of its assets to repay debts. Historically, high inflation and fiscal deficits have often driven investors to turn to hard capital such as goldto increase its price.

"Strategic holding of Bitcoin can not only be used as a safe-haven asset, but also allows it to be sold at a high level to reduce debt." Economist Will Alden commented. In theory, when the dollar weakens or global uncertainty rises, crypto asset reserves may increase value, providing a buffer for the fiscal. In addition, the establishment of reserves can release dollar liquidity and allow it to be put into other uses rather than continuing to hoard foreign exchange or gold. If the crypto market continues to grow, the United States may be able to get excess returns from it.

opponents warn that the risk and uncertainty are huge. Cryptocurrency prices fluctuate violently, and large-scale purchases may trigger market concerns about the fiscal situation in the United States, and even promote expectations of rising inflation, forming a self-realization crisis. Economist Thomas Hendrickson pointed out that if the market interprets the US turn to Bitcoin because of a loss of confidence in the US dollar, it may weaken global trust in US fiscal stability and the US dollar. In addition, entry may push up the price of crypto assets, forming a bubble, and once the market collapses, taxpayers will bear the losses.

Some critics also question the need for crypto reserves. Norbert Michel, an economist at the Cato Institute, believes that focusing on more pressing economic issues rather than investing in Bitcoin: "There are more important things to be solved."

2) The implementation of global financial competition and US leadership is related to the competition for global financial leadership. By establishing crypto assets reserves, the United States is trying to establish influence in the crypto field and seize the initiative.

The United States chose open, decentralized crypto assets rather than digital currencies dominated by the central bank, forming a global comparison of "free vs. control". "This decision is in line with the 'America First' agenda and shows a more tactful crypto-tech support stance." He also stressed that the United States' inclusion of assets such as Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) into its reserves (which are more similar to tech stocks than stored value assets), indicating that it is supporting local blockchain innovation. This move may not only enhance the development of the U.S. fintech industry, but also consolidate the dollar's dominance in global crypto trading (most stablecoins are currently denominated in US dollars).

3) Geographical Impact: Global Effect and Power Game

Others We will pay close attention to the implementation effect of this. The U.S. action may prompt allies to include crypto assets in reserves or fiscal investments to avoid lagging behind in the process of global financial digitalization. In addition, this trend may prompt institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reevaluate the role of crypto assets in the global reserve system.

For highly dependent on the US dollar, the U.S. crypto reserves may be regarded as recognition of the concept of "digital gold",Further promote the mainstreaming of Bitcoin. However, large-scale holdings of crypto assets in the United States may also cause concerns:

· Will the United States gain too much influence in the decentralized network?

·If you hold 1 million BTC, it will become the world's largest single holder, which may affect market liquidity and even dominate the governance decisions of some blockchain protocols.

"If others take the lead, the United States may be behind." Analysts at Duane Morris LLP pointed out in the report that establishing crypto reserves and developing a clear regulatory framework may be the key to ensuring that the United States maintains its leadership in the global crypto economy.

In short, the U.S. crypto reserves are not only an investment decision, but also part of a financial strategy. It may affect the global financial landscape, relatedness, fiscal stability, and even geopolitical power balance.

Image source: Christine Roy, Unsplash

03 Legal and regulatory impact: Exploring unknown legal fields

The establishment of federal cryptocurrency reserves brings new legal challenges and requires the rapid change of regulatory environment. As of now, U.S. law and regulators have not defined crypto assets in a uniform manner, which may be considered as securities, commodities, property or currency, and a series of court decisions and institutional actions are gradually defining their legal boundaries.

Before this, some key court cases, administrative rulings and regulations provided important reference for the management of cryptocurrency reserves and potential restrictions.

1) Securities Act—SEC v. Ripple (2020–2023)

A landmark case is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suing Ripple Labs for alleging that his XRP is an unregistered securities. In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District Court of New York made two somewhat contradictory rulings:

·Ripple’s sale of XRP on the secondary market is not a securities transaction;

·Ripple’s sale of XRP directly to institutional investors violates the Securities Act.

This shows to some extent that the same crypto asset may have different legal attributes in different trading scenarios, and provides the first judicial case regarding the applicability of the 1946 Howey test (judging whether an investment contract belongs to securities) in the field of digital assets.

The ruling shows that tokens like XRP are not necessarily regulated by the SEC when trading in retail markets, which means that widely circulated crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum may not be considered as securities. This result is seen as a victory for the crypto industry because it limits SEC’s regulation. However, the SEC is still appealing some of the rulings, and legal uncertainty remains.

This case has an important impact on the US cryptocurrency reserves. If the crypto assets in the reserve are identified as securities in the future, stricter compliance requirements (such as securities custody and financial reporting) may be required. Therefore, reserves are expected to prioritize holdings of Bitcoin and Ethereum (as it is often regarded as commodities by regulators), and XRP (based on the Ripple case judgment, which may not be considered as securities when traded in the open market).

2) Securities Act—SEC v. Coinbase (2023–2025)

In June 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase (the largest CEX in the United States), accusing it of operating as an unregistered securities CEX, broker and clearing agency, and involved in multiple crypto asset transactions.

This case became a classic case of SEC's "law enforcement is supervision" in the previous period, when the SEC tried to regulate the market through more than 100 enforcement actions against crypto assets (covering CEX operations, Token sales, etc.).

Coinbase not only defends in court, but also files a rule-making petition to the SEC, essentially requiring the SEC (and the Federal Court of Appeal) to clarify:

· Which crypto assets belong to securities;

·How can the industry be legal and compliant.

However, by early 2025, there was a significant shift in the regulatory direction: With a new support for encryption, the SEC withdraws its lawsuit against Coinbase and terminates its investigation into several crypto companies. Although withdrawal of lawsuits eliminates part of the legal uncertainty of CEX, the core issue remains unresolved - which crypto assets should be classified as securities still need to be clarified by new legislation.

Coinbase and other industry players are still urging Congress to create clear regulations because the Howey tests decades ago and the current securities regulatory framework have been difficult to apply to the modern crypto market.

For U.S. crypto assets reserves, the SEC ends Coinbase lawsuits as a positive signal:

·This shows that regulators will not block holding or trading crypto assets on the grounds of “unregistered securities”;

·This also means that the regulatory environment is becoming more relaxed, potentially reducing legal barriers to crypto reserves in custody and management.

In other words, although there are still uncertainties in securities laws, the feasibility of managing crypto reserves is increasing.

3) Product Classification - CFTC and other institutions

Another important pillar of encryption supervision is the commodity law. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has long argued that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are commodities stipulated in the Commodity Trading Act. Federal CourtThis position has been recognized, giving the CFTC the power to regulate fraud and manipulate crypto markets, including spot markets.

In CFTC v. My Big Coin in 2018, the judge ruled that the CFTC could regulate virtual assets as commodities, even if they were intangible assets. This judgment is consistent with the CFTC's position that crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are more similar to digital goods than securities due to their decentralized and issuerless nature.

In addition, the CFTC has taken enforcement actions against CEXs such as BitMEX and Binance, accusing them of providing crypto derivatives trading without registration, further strengthening the CFTC’s regulatory role in the field.

For U.S. crypto reserves, if the U.S. holds and trades crypto assets, it may apply to commodity regulations, rather than securities regulations. This usually means looser regulatory requirements, but still comply with anti-fraud and anti-manipulation regulations. If the Treasury proactively manages crypto reserves (such as selling Bitcoin at the right time), it must be ensured that market manipulation laws are not violated.

In addition, crypto assets are classified as commodities, which also raises the issue of regulatory authority - which agency is responsible for supervising crypto reserves? This requires coordination between the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, the SEC and the CFTC.

It is worth noting that there have been legislative proposals (such as the Lummis-Gillibrand Act) that attempt to clarify regulatory ownership may place most crypto assets under CFTC regulation, and only some of the assets are classified as securities.

4) Treasury Department / OFAC - Tornado Cash Sanctions (2022–2024)

The U.S. Treasury’s main function in the field of crypto is to combat illegal financial activities. In August 2022, the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Tornado Cash (a decentralized cryptocurrency mixing protocol) to the sanctions list for the first time and added its smart contract address to the blacklist. OFAC accused Tornado Cash of being used to whitewash more than $7 billion in crypto assets, including funds stolen by North Korean hackers and ban U.S. citizens from trading with addresses related to the agreement.

However, at the end of 2024, the U.S. Federal Court of Appeal overturned the sanction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that OFAC oversteps its authority because Tornado Cash’s open source smart contract cannot be considered “property” or legal sanctions. The court pointed out that the unchangeable software code is neither an organization nor an individual, which reflects the contradiction between the traditional legal framework and the development of decentralized technology.

This case has a profound impact on encryption management because it reveals the legal dilemma of regulators when facing decentralized networks. For the US crypto reservesIn other words, although Tornado Cash itself will not become a reserve asset, the case shows that careful consideration must be taken into account when managing crypto assets:

· What are the digital assets actually controlled?

·Can smart contracts (codes) be "held" like traditional assets?

In addition, any use of crypto reserves must comply with sanctions and relevant regulations (AML). For example, the Ministry of Finance needs to establish strict compliance mechanisms to prevent transactions with sanctioned addresses or entities.

The Tornado Cash case ultimately exposed that the current law has lagged behind the development of decentralized technology and legislative renewal is imminent. As Judge Willett pointed out, this is a problem that Congress needs to address and may be advanced in parallel with the legislative process of establishing crypto-stock reserves.

5) Administrative Actions and Regulatory Framework

The encrypted regulatory environment is also affected by the administrative departments. In March 2022, President Biden issued Executive Order 14067 (EO 14067) Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, requiring federal agencies to study the risks and opportunities of crypto assets. The order outlines the goals, including consumer protection, financial stability, combating illicit finance, enhancing U.S. competitiveness, and exploring central bank digital currency (CBDC).

While the executive order did not create new laws, it led to a series of reports and recommendations by the end of 2022 and marked the federal recognition that crypto assets have become a long-term component of the financial system. It is worth noting that the executive order promoted the study of digital dollars (CBDC) at that time.

However, in January 2025, President Trump issued a new executive order, "Strengthening the U.S. Leadership in Digital Financial Technology", revoking Biden's executive order and taking a completely different stance: Trump is firmly opposed to the launch of the U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) on the grounds that it may threaten individual freedom and privacy.

In contrast, the order explicitly supports privately issued US dollar stablecoins and blockchain technology innovations.

Most importantly, Trump's executive order set up a working group responsible for developing a cryptocurrency regulatory framework and assessing the feasibility of establishing digital asset reserves. The working group was asked to submit a report on how to implement crypto reserves within 180 days (i.e. mid-2025).

But how to implement cryptographic reserves? In fact, any implementation plan may involve the use of existing legal authorizations, or require new legislation to be passed by Congress. Possible pathways currently include:

A. The Ministry of Finance’s Foreign Exchange Stability Fund (ESF)

This fund has been historically used to hold foreign exchange and gold for exchange rate intervention, and its scope of authorization may be extended to include crypto assets through Congress approval or broad interpretation.

B. Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve is responsible for managing the U.S. gold and foreign exchange reserves and coordinates with the Treasury Department. But the Federal Reserve Act limits the Fed's asset purchase scope, mainly limited to securities. Unless Congress amends the law, it remains questionable whether crypto assets can be included in the Fed's balance sheet.

C. Strategic cooperation between the Ministry of Treasury and the Federal Reserve

The two require cooperation to manage cryptocurrency reserves, similar to their coordination mechanisms in debt management and foreign exchange reserves.

In addition, there have been proposals for “decentralized vaults” that suggest that the Ministry of Finance manages cryptocurrency reserves to ensure control of private keys while providing transparency to the public.

Overall, US cryptocurrency regulation is still under dynamic adjustment. The recent victory of the crypto industry in court (Ripple, Third Circuit Coinbase Petition, Tornado Cash), and the executive turn indicate that the United States is moving towards a more relaxed regulatory environment.

However, there are still major legal issues that are pending, including: classification of different tokens (commodities vs. securities), legal basis for obtaining and holding crypto assets (which may require Congressional grants or reinterpretation of the law), how to formulate regulatory mechanisms to prevent abuse or mismanagement, etc.

Acknowledge: Photo provided by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

04 Comparative analysis: Cryptocurrency reserves vs. Gold and fiat currencies

The strategic cryptocurrency reserves in the United States will become an unprecedented complement to the asset system and have key differences with traditional gold reserves or fiat currencies:

1) Comparison of the supply mechanisms of gold, fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies

· Gold: Stable supply, clear ownership

The supply of gold depends mainly on mining, increasing by about 1–2% per year. The total amount of gold mined worldwide is about 208,000 tons, of which: central banks hold about 35,000 tons as financial reserves.

The physical properties of gold make it possible to choose to be stored in the country (such as "Fort Knox" in the United States), or in a trusted foreign vault, with clear ownership.

·Fiat currency reserves: Relying on the central bank

Fiat currency reserves (such as the US dollar, the euro) are issued by foreign central banks. Holding these currencies means relying on their issuance of the central bank's currencies. For example: Holding USD means trusting the Fed will not over-issuing USD in order to prevent depreciation.

Filiform currencies can be exchanged through foreign exchange market transactions or diplomatic agreements between central banks and are not directly affected by market supply and demand.

·Cryptocurrency: The total amount is fixed, decentralized operation

The supply of crypto assets is completely different, and their supply is notUnder the central bank or control: the total supply of Bitcoin is fixed (21 million), and is gradually released according to the schedule set by the algorithm, rather than being decided by the central agency.

No or central bank can change the issuance of Bitcoin, making it more attractive to those who are worried about the depreciation of fiat currency.

However, the decentralized nature of Bitcoin means that no one can “control” its network. Even if a certain person holds a large amount of Bitcoin, its currency rules or functions cannot be changed.

2) Gold vs. Bitcoin: Differences in Currency Influence

The decentralized nature of Bitcoin is in sharp contrast to the monetary system in the gold standard era:

Golden Age: The United States can adjust gold prices or suspend gold exchanges (such as the 1971 "Nixon Shock") to directly affect the currency.

Bitcoin Era: Its rules are determined by the global network consensus and have no right to modify unilaterally, regardless of the amount of holding.

In addition, the United States must compete with other investors in the open market to buy Bitcoin, and large-scale acquisitions may lead to market prices rising and put itself at a disadvantage.

3) Volatility and Risk

Compared with fiat currencies, gold shows a more stable value for a long time—its prices usually rise during inflation, but their volatility is much lower than crypto assets. The annual price fluctuations of gold usually range between 10–20%, while the price fluctuations of crypto assets may reach 10–20% in one day and have experienced extreme bull and bear cycles. For example:

Bitcoin soared from about $10,000 in 2020 to $69,000 at the end of 2021;

Plumped to $16,000 at the end of 2022;

Roberated to more than $60,000 in 2024.

This volatility is an order of magnitude higher than the price fluctuations of most fiat currencies or gold. Therefore, crypto asset reserves will significantly increase balance sheet volatility.

Under the accounting system of market-to-market accounting, quarterly book gains or losses may fluctuate greatly, which may cause controversy. Nothing wants to see the value of its foreign exchange reserves fluctuate drastically.

The U.S. gold reserves are huge (valued close to $500 billion), and if the Treasury sells a larger portion of it, it could affect the global gold market. Therefore, central banks usually coordinate sales or adopt a gradual sell-off to avoid market shocks.

For fiat currencies reserves (such as the US dollar, the euro), the size of holdings of countries often reaches hundreds of billions of levels. These foreign exchange reserves are managed very cautiously to avoid disrupting the foreign exchange market.

In contrast, despite the growing crypto market, it is still smaller than the traditional foreign exchange marketAnd highly dispersed. As of the beginning of 2025, the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market was approximately US$2.7–3 trillion, about a quarter of the global gold market size and far smaller than the global stock or bond market.

If the United States implements a large-scale purchase program (the tens of billions of dollars), it could significantly push up the price of cryptocurrencies—in fact, just announcing the plan has already made the price of Bitcoin rise by more than 10%.

This raises the issue of "execution risk". In order to avoid large market fluctuations, the United States may need to purchase cryptocurrencies in the following ways:

·Stage purchases to obtain a reasonable purchase price;

·Trade with large holders through OTC (OTC) to avoid pushing up market prices.

On the contrary, in times of crisis, if crypto assets need to be sold quickly for fiat currency, this behavior may lead to a collapse in the price of crypto assets.

In addition, there is a problem of “liquidity under pressure”:

For example, when global market liquidity drys up in March 2020, Bitcoin prices fell by half in a few days, while gold and U.S. Treasuries proved their liquidity advantages as safe assets.

Although the cryptocurrency market has matured a lot since then, its resilience in the true global macro-financial crisis has not been fully verified.

So, although crypto assets are extremely liquid under normal market conditions (transactions on 24/7 globally), there is still uncertainty as to whether they can be a reliable reserve asset during times of financial turmoil.

4) Custody and Security

Although it is expensive to store gold in a vault (involving security, insurance, and audit), the operation is relatively simple. Holding fiat currency reserves mainly depends on the accounts of central banks or custodial banks, and there is almost no risk of being theft. However, holding cryptocurrencies presents unique cybersecurity challenges.

Ownership of crypto asset reserves actually depends on control of the crypto private key.

After a hacker attack or an insider threat occurs, it may lead to irreversible capital losses, which does not correspond to the risk in gold and fiat currency reserves (gold and fiat currency will not be stolen or destroyed on a large scale due to hackers unless physical infringement is involved).

Therefore, the United States needs state-of-the-art cold storage solutions, multi-layer key management systems (possibly using multi-signature wallets to allocate keys to multiple trusted institutions or officials), and even develop dedicated hardware modules to ensure the security of cryptocurrency reserves.

At present, there is limited precedent in this area: some small countries and private institutions have tried to manage large-scale crypto asset custody; but at the same time, notorious hacking has also occurred in the crypto industry, such as the 2014 hacking of Mt. Gox, which lost 850,000 Bitcoins.

If the custody of the US crypto reserves fails - even a small-scale hacker incident, it may seriously damage market confidence, so this risk cannot be ignored.

On the other hand, the transparency of blockchain provides a new accountability mechanism. For example, the United States could follow El Salvador’s approach and publicly reserved blockchain addresses, allowing the public to verify the existence of crypto assets in real time. This transparency is much higher than gold reserves (the latter relies on audit reports, while data on the blockchain can be queried in real time).

5) Income Generation

Gold is a "no income" asset that will not generate interest unless it is borrowed. The fiat currency reserves can earn moderate interest by investing in safe bonds or deposits. Crypto assets bring new possibilities for profit.

For example, the United States can earn profits by staking or borrowing certain crypto assets: holding ETH or ADA can participate in a Proof of Stake (PoS) network to earn protocol rewards.

But doing so may raise additional legal questions:

· Is participating in blockchain verification involving commercial activities?

·Will this affect the regulatory classification of crypto assets?

In addition, if you choose to earn income through borrowing, it also involves counterparty risk. These activities blur the line between passive reserve assets and actively managed sovereign wealth funds.

In view of the current regulatory uncertainty, the most cautious approach may be: not seek profits in the early stage, but regard cryptocurrencies simply as reserve assets and adopt a "buy & hold" strategy.

In general, crypto asset reserves have the same effect as gold as risk-held (their value is independent of others), but by comparison, they are more volatile and more technically complex.

Unlike fiat currency reserves, crypto assets do not represent debt claims against other economies, which have both advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages: There is no credit risk (not affected by other central banks like foreign exchange reserves).

Disadvantages: Lack of traditional international cooperation mechanisms (such as the inability to support allies through currency swaps like foreign exchange reserves).

The uniqueness of crypto assets is that their decentralized and digital properties are both censorship-resistant (not frozen by foreign issuers), and also face cybersecurity threats (hacker attacks) and uncertain regulatory risks. The United States must weigh these pros and cons.

05 Summary: Going to a new financial frontier

The establishment of crypto asset reserves in the United States marks a critical moment in financial history, and traditional asset reserves officially meet with the digital age. Supporters believe that this move can hedge inflation, enhance financial resilience, and serve as a strategic tool to ensure the United States' global leadership in the crypto finance field. However, critics warn that market wavemovement, legal uncertainty, and risks that may affect the dominance of the US dollar cannot be ignored.

The success of this program depends on precise execution, a clear regulatory framework, and strong cybersecurity measures to circumvent potential pitfalls and ensure long-term viability. How the United States manages this transformation will provide important reference for others and institutions to influence their own crypto asset strategies.

In addition to direct economic and legal considerations, deeper questions still exist:

· Will this reserve strengthen or weaken the global status of the US dollar?

·Will its establishment trigger a global digital asset competition or even give birth to a new financial game?

As crypto assets gradually integrate into reserves, does this mean that the transformation of decentralized finance (DeFi) at the level is about to begin?

While the United States is exploring this new path, the global financial landscape will also be reshaped. The answers to these questions will affect the monetary system, market evolution and the distribution of global economic strength.