Solana and XRP Soar on Speculation of Trump’s ‘America-First’ Crypto Reserve, Experts Express Reservations

As speculation mounts around the possibility of President-elect Donald Trump introducing a national strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies, concerns are rising about the inclusion of altcoins in such a plan.

The idea of a bitcoin-focused strategic reserve has gained traction ahead of Trump’s inauguration, with many crypto enthusiasts hopeful that the U.S. government will adopt bitcoin as a cornerstone of its financial strategy. But, as reports indicate, there could be more tokens under consideration, with Solana (SOL), XRP, and Hedera (HBAR) possibly being included in this “America-first” reserve.

Solana’s SOL, XRP, and Hedera’s HBAR saw notable price increases on Thursday, partly driven by a New York Post report claiming that Trump is “receptive” to the idea of creating a strategic reserve encompassing these tokens, as well as USDC, Circle’s stablecoin.

In the wake of the report, SOL surged by over 8%, hitting $217, XRP climbed to $3.35, approaching its 2018 record, and HBAR rose by more than 10%, marking its highest price since early December. The CoinDesk 20 Index surged 5%, with bitcoin’s 0.5% increase pushing its price back to just below $100,000.

Crypto investors are eagerly watching for executive actions on digital assets during Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Trump’s campaign had previously promised to make the U.S. a global leader in cryptocurrency adoption, including the creation of a national bitcoin stockpile. Additionally, some states have started or are in the process of introducing legislation to establish a reserve of bitcoin.

Despite the optimism, market observers are not entirely on board with the concept of expanding a national strategic reserve to altcoins.

Quinn Thompson, founder of Lekker Capital, criticized the notion, calling it “a ridiculous idea” in a post on X. He added, “It’s not the government’s role to make venture capital bets on altcoins. This rumored strategic reserve for non-BTC coins is a classic example of people taking a flawed idea and running with it as fact.”

Meanwhile, Anthony Georgiades, a partner at Innovating Capital, expressed his concern that nationalizing digital assets could harm decentralization efforts. “Bitcoin is the only token that is truly decentralized. The others, while promising, still have a long way to go,” he explained during an interview. “Nationalizing these assets could undermine their ability to remain decentralized.”

As the debate continues, questions linger over the future of a potential crypto reserve and the role that altcoins like Solana, XRP, and HBAR will play in the broader strategy under the new administration.