What's this about a crypto reserve?

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

In 2009, Bitcoin launched as the first cryptocurrency. Just under two decades, President Trump has signed an executive order to create the "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile." On today's show, we look at what the U.S. government plans for this new strategy, plus who benefits from a crypto reserve.

Related episodes:
Is an American sovereign wealth fund such a bad idea? (Apple / Spotify)
Is 'government crypto' a good idea? (Apple / Spotify)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	NPR.
0:11.7	This is the indicator from Planet Money.
0:13.9	I'm Jeff Guo.
0:14.8	And I'm Patty Hirsch.
0:16.2	President Trump's executive order earlier this month to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital
0:21.5	asset stockpile made the crypto community's pulse jump. The crypto summit that followed,
0:28.0	however, was something of a letdown. And two weeks on, the world is wondering, what was all
0:32.7	that crypto kerfuffle all about? Crypto evangelists had been hoping to hear that the government would be fully committed to
0:38.9	supporting and buying crypto and that crypto gains would be exempted from taxes.
0:43.7	Now, on the surface, it doesn't seem like either of those things is going to happen.
0:47.1	Still, the creation of the reserve has raised a lot of questions.
0:50.6	Why did President Trump create this reserve?
0:52.4	Does the U.S. need one?
0:53.4	Who benefits?
1:03.1	Where's the money coming from? And of course, what could possibly go wrong? The answer to all of these questions and more coming up after the break.
1:13.7	Are we overlooking the challenges facing men without college degrees?
1:15.6	Richard Reeves thinks so.
1:18.9	There are a lot of guys out there who are actually poorer than their dads.
1:21.9	Reeves heads the American Institute for Boys and Men.
1:26.8	Have we updated our view about the role of men as quickly as we've changed the economy around them?
1:27.7	And the answer is no.
1:32.1	That's from a recent Planet Money bonus episode. A look at the economic and cultural struggles of working class men. To hear it and get sponsor-free listening, sign up for NPR
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