Bitcoin price jumps as Trump names cryptocurrencies in strategic reserve

Bitcoin, Ether, Ripple and other currencies named

Bitcoin had sunk below $80,000 last week but soared after Mr Trump's announcement. AFP

President Donald Trump on Sunday announced the names of five digital assets he expects to include in a new US crypto strategic reserve, surging the market value of each.

Mr Trump said on social media that his January executive order on digital assets would create a stockpile of currencies including Bitcoin, Ether, Ripple, Solana and Cardano. The names had not previously been announced.

The assets all rose, with Bitcoin up more than 10 per cent to more than $94,000. It is not clear how the new stockpile will be set up or work.

Mr Trump said his order “directed the presidential working group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL and ADA. I will make sure the US is the crypto capital of the world.”

More than an hour later, Trump added another post: “And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable cryptocurrencies, will be at the heart of the Reserve.”

The Republican President won support from the crypto industry in his 2024 election bid, and he has quickly moved to back their policy priorities. Under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, regulators cracked down on the industry in a bid to protect Americans from fraud and money laundering.

In recent weeks, though, cryptocurrency prices had gone down, with some of the biggest digital currencies erasing nearly all of the gains made after Mr Trump's election win led to a wave of excitement across the industry.

He is hosting the first White House Crypto Summit on Friday. He and his family have also launched their own coins.