In a surprise announcement on Sunday, March 2, President Donald Trump unveiled the five cryptocurrencies that will be part of the U.S. strategic crypto reserve: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). The news immediately ignited the crypto market, with Bitcoin's price surging from $85,040 to a high of $95,043 in 24 hours, a gain of over 10%. At press time, Bitcoin traded at $92,930.26, up 8.20% on the day, though still down 3.11% over the past week.
Market Data Explodes
The price spike was accompanied by a dramatic surge in trading activity. Bitcoin's 24-hour trading volume reached $75.87 billion, a 261.29% increase from the previous day. The futures market also heated up: total Bitcoin futures open interest grew 6.64% to $54.64 billion. Liquidations in the past 24 hours amounted to $358.98 million, with short positions accounting for $252.71 million and long positions for $106.28 million, indicating many traders were caught off guard by the upward move.
Bitcoin's market capitalization rose 8.33% to $1.84 trillion, while its dominance climbed 1.82 percentage points to 61.47%, reflecting Bitcoin's strengthening position relative to altcoins amid the Trump-driven rally.
Trump's Pro-Crypto Policy Shift
In his statement, Trump said the reserve is intended to "position the United States as a leader in the crypto industry," marking a clear reversal from the previous administration's regulatory stance. The inclusion of multiple blockchain tokens—beyond just Bitcoin—was seen as a nod to the broader crypto ecosystem. Analysts suggest that other nations may now consider following suit, potentially triggering a global race for strategic crypto reserves.
However, details on the reserve's size, funding mechanism, and acquisition timeline remain unclear, leaving the market vulnerable to potential disappointment if the final plan falls short of expectations.
Institutional Confidence on Display
On the same day, Simon Gerovich, CEO of Japanese hotel-turned-Bitcoin-treasury firm Metaplanet, announced the company had purchased 156 BTC for approximately $13.4 million at an average price of $85,890 per Bitcoin. The acquisition brings Metaplanet's total holdings to 2,391 BTC. Gerovich said the purchase reflects continued institutional confidence in Bitcoin's long-term value proposition.
Such consistent accumulation by public companies and institutions underscores a growing trend of traditional capital flowing into digital assets, further supporting the bullish narrative.
Outlook and Risks
The Trump announcement has injected powerful short-term momentum, and Bitcoin has broken through key technical resistance levels. Yet investors should remain cautious: the policy details are still vague, and the market has already priced in significant gains. The 3% weekly decline prior to the announcement suggests the market was in a downtrend, and a sustained rally depends on volume holding above recent highs.
Going forward, any updates on the strategic reserve's operational framework are likely to trigger further volatility. The crypto market has entered a new phase where policy signals from Washington could dominate price action for weeks to come.