Cryptocurrencies plunged in Thursday trading after President Donald Trump signed an executive order launching a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the United States.
Bitcoin prices ended 3% lower at $87,586.86 and shortly after the news broke, it fell as low as $84,688.13.
Earlier losses on other coins that rose last week such as Ethereum down 2% to trade at $2,184.08, XRP and Solana down 1% and 3% respectively.
Meanwhile, Cardano fell 13%.
White House crypto and AI Czar, David Sacks, explained on social media at X that the US Bitcoin reserves were previously seized by the government due to law enforcement action.
The move did not cost taxpayers a single cent, with the United States now owning more than 198,000 Bitcoin tokens worth $17 billion.
Initially, investors sold their coins because they believed the US had no planned Bitcoin purchases as planned, coupled with significant weakness in the equity market.
Steven Lubka, Head of Private Clients and Family Office at Swan Bitcoin, noted that while the news was positive, it was not what the market was expecting in the short term as investors were looking for immediate buying pressure.
Meanwhile, the crypto market has been hit hard this week by tariff wars and inflation concerns, which have overall outweighed speculative interest in Bitcoin reserves.
