Is XRP in the US reserve, and is the government buying or holding XRP?

The full answer

An executive order dated March 6, 2025 set up two structures for crypto the US government holds [1]. CREW described it in July 2025 as the order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the United States Digital Asset Stockpile [3]. The order’s purchase strategies cover bitcoin. For every other asset, it limits new additions to forfeitures and civil penalties [1][2].

What is the difference between the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the Digital Asset Stockpile? In March 2025, President Trump issued an executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the United States Digital Asset Stockpile, according to a 2025 report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) [3].

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve holds bitcoin. Under the order, government bitcoin deposited into it “shall not be sold and shall be maintained as reserve assets of the United States” [1]. The order directs the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce to develop strategies for acquiring more government bitcoin, provided the strategies are budget neutral and do not impose incremental costs on United States taxpayers [1].

The Digital Asset Stockpile is the second structure. The order directs the Treasury Secretary to establish an office to administer and maintain control of custodial accounts under that name [1]. Those accounts are capitalized with all digital assets owned by Treasury, other than bitcoin, that were finally forfeited in criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings and are not needed to satisfy requirements under 31 U.S.C. 9705 or released under the order’s disposal rules [1]. The Treasury Secretary is to determine strategies for responsible stewardship of the Stockpile [1].

The Stockpile has a hard limit on growth. The order states that the government “shall not acquire additional Stockpile Assets other than in connection with criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings or in satisfaction of any civil money penalty imposed by any agency without further executive or legislative action” [2]. CREW noted on July 10, 2025 that the White House fact sheet authorized budget-neutral strategies for acquiring bitcoin and did not include any such stipulation for the Stockpile [3]. CREW summed up the result as two separate reserve bodies, one that holds bitcoin and a second for other tokens [3].

XRP is not bitcoin, so any XRP that Treasury owns after final forfeiture falls within the Stockpile’s definition, not the bitcoin reserve’s.

The order tells the Treasury and Commerce Secretaries to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring more government bitcoin [1].

Why do people believe XRP is in a US reserve?

The belief traces to posts before the order was signed. Days before issuing the order, President Trump described his plans in a series of Truth Social posts announcing a “U.S. Crypto Reserve” that included bitcoin, ether, solana, XRP and cardano, according to CREW’s July 10, 2025 report [3]. CREW wrote that neither Trump’s comments nor the language of the order clarify whether there was an underlying strategy for selecting those tokens, and that the Stockpile’s composition appears to be determined primarily by which digital assets the government has seized [3]. The page on why Trump named XRP for a US crypto reserve covers the posts and the reaction to them.

The second piece of evidence cited for government XRP holdings is a 2025 media report. CoinCentral reported on October 25, 2025 that, according to Abdullah Nassif, host of the Good Morning Crypto podcast, the DEA confiscated $54.7 million of digital assets, including $7.8 million in XRP [4]. The same article said the details of the seizure had not been officially confirmed by the DEA or the Department of Justice [4].

The posts named XRP, but the signed order sets purchase strategies for bitcoin only. Neither the posts nor the podcast claim is an official record of XRP held or bought.

How much XRP does the government hold from forfeitures, and where is that recorded?

The order set up the record-keeping. Within 30 days, each agency had to give the Treasury Secretary and the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets a full accounting of all government digital assets in its possession [1]. Each agency also had to review its authorities to transfer Stockpile Assets to the Stockpile and report the result to Treasury [1]. The executive order directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an office to administer custodial accounts known as the “United States Digital Asset Stockpile,” capitalized with all digital assets owned by the Department of the Treasury, other than BTC, that were finally forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings and that are not needed to satisfy requirements under 31 U.S.C. 9705 or released pursuant to subsection (d) of the order’s section. 9705 or released pursuant to subsection (d) of that section of the order [1].

I could not find any published XRP figure from those accountings as of October 3, 2026. The only XRP amount I have found is the $7.8 million figure from the October 2025 CoinCentral report, which the DEA and Department of Justice had not confirmed [4]. For holdings by states and other countries, see whether any US states, foreign governments or central banks hold or use XRP.

What legislation would be needed for the government to buy XRP?

The order names the route itself. Acquiring Stockpile Assets beyond forfeitures and civil money penalties requires “further executive or legislative action” [2]. That means a new executive action or a law. The order also asked Treasury for an evaluation within 60 days of the legal and investment considerations for the reserve and the Stockpile, including the need for any legislation to operationalize any aspect of the order [1].

The March 2025 executive order states that the United States Government shall not acquire additional Stockpile Assets other than in connection with criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings or in satisfaction of any civil money penalty, without further executive or legislative action [1]. The page on whether the US government has officially chosen XRP for any role tracks other official actions, and what the administration’s crypto policy has actually done covers the wider set of orders.

The page on whether a future US government could reverse XRP’s regulatory position covers that wider question. ## Could the government sell forfeited XRP, and would that add supply?

The order restricts sales. Agency heads shall not sell or otherwise dispose of government digital assets except in connection with the Treasury Secretary’s stewardship of the Stockpile, under an order from a court of competent jurisdiction, or where the Attorney General or relevant agency head decides the assets or proceeds should be returned to identifiable and verifiable victims of crime, used for law enforcement operations, equitably shared with State and local law enforcement partners, or released under listed statutes [1].

CREW wrote in July 2025 that historically such assets have been sold through auctions and that the government does not buy cryptocurrencies [3]. CoinCentral wrote in October 2025 that the timing and method of disposing of seized XRP could affect market sentiment and liquidity [4].

The bitcoin reserve carries a no-sale rule, while Stockpile assets fall under Treasury’s stewardship and the listed exceptions, so a sale of forfeited XRP is possible under the order. Its effect on supply cannot be sized while the government’s XRP holding is not public.