The Trump White House recently announced a project that the crypto industry loves, skeptics hate, and that most people, reasonably, don’t really care about: a “bitcoin strategic reserve.”

A strategic Bitcoin reserve in the United States reduces the possibility that the government will ever “ban” the cryptocurrency and could encourage many more nations to adopt Bitcoin, according to crypto observers.

While some in the crypto community welcomed the announcement, others expressed disappointment as Bitcoin's price dropped more than 5% upon learning that the reserve would not

The first-of-its-kind reserve will be anchored by a stash of Bitcoin the government already owns, estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

President Trump has signed an executive order to create a national bitcoin stockpile composed of coins seized through criminal and civil proceedings.

Proponents of a strategic Bitcoin reserve argue that nation states should stockpile Bitcoin alongside assets such as gold.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a strategic bitcoin reserve as well as a U.S. digital asset stockpile on Thursday, a day ahead of the White House hosting a crypto summit.

The reserve will hold cryptocurrency forfeited to the government in criminal or civil proceedings, said the White House.

U.S. President Donald Trump wooed the cryptocurrency industry's elite at the White House on Friday, hosting a first-of-its-kind summit focused on his plans for a government-owned stockpile of digital assets.

Similar to how the government has a reserve of other currencies such as gold, this reserve houses the country's digital currency.

Crypto experts told Newsweek the president's recent actions acted as a mark of legitimacy for the digital asset class.