President Trump’s plan to include altcoins in a strategic crypto reserve has split the crypto community, with some perplexed by the proposed addition of a number of high-profile tokens. 

Revealed Sunday on Truth Social, the proposed crypto plan would create a strategic reserve that seeks to include XRP, Solana, Cardano, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.

President Donald Trump’s announcement triggered significant upswings across the crypto market after a broader dip that followed Bybit’s $1.4 billion theft late last month.

Crypto proponents were quick to voice their disapproval, arguing for a Bitcoin-only approach rather than incorporating what some term as “altcoins” or worse, “shitcoins.”

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said in a post on X that he “imagined” the Strategic Reserve “would be just Bitcoin.”

“That makes the most sense to me,” Horsley said, adding that while many “crypto assets have merits” what’s at stake “isn’t a US investment portfolio” but rather a reserve. “Bitcoin is the undisputed store of value for the digital age.”

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong agreed, claiming only Bitcoin being included in the reserve “would be the best option” as a “successor to gold.”

Armstrong also advocated for a market cap weighted index of cryptos to “keep it unbiased” if more  “variety” was needed.  However, he also acknowledged that the first option “is easiest.”

Armstrong’s post was met with support from Adam Back, but was also noted with derision from JAN3 CEO Samson Mow.

“Even the shitcoin peddlers don’t want a shitcoin reserve,” Mow said, posting a screenshot of Armstrong’s tweet.

The announcement that altcoins would be included also drew comparisons to tech stocks. 

Anthony Pompliano, founder of Professional Capital Management, posted on X that if the U.S. were to “put altcoins” on its balance sheet, it might as well “start buying tech stocks.”

“Very different risk profile from those assets compared to sound money principled assets like gold and bitcoin,” Pompliano said.

Despite the tirades, supporters celebrated Trump’s announcement.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, defended the move claiming “maximalism is the enemy of the industry’s progress.” 

“Glad to see POTUS recognizing we live in a multichain world and that we’re finally moving past Bill Hinman and the Biden administration’s SEC’s very broken thinking,” Garlinghouse said.

Markets responded positively despite the divided sentiment on Sunday with Bitcoin rising 11% to more than $94,000 while Ethereum increased 10% to above $2,400 on the news.

Altcoins also saw gains with Cardano surging 60% while XRP jumped about 27%. Solana, meanwhile, increased 25% following the announcement, according to data from CoinGecko.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

A surge of state-level Bitcoin reserve proposals across the U.S. has hit a roadblock, after multiple states rejected bills to invest public funds in the leading crypto.

Of the 50 U.S. states, over 20 have introduced or are considering legislation related to Bitcoin reserves or investments in digital assets, but the fate of many of these bills remains uncertain.

But over the past few weeks, several states—including Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming—have dealt setbacks to the growing Bitcoin reserve initiative. Here’s a look at how such bills have failed thus far.

Montana

Montana’s Bitcoin reserve proposal, House Bill 429, faltered following its introduction in late January. The bill sought to allocate up to $50 million in public funds for Bitcoin, stablecoins, and precious metals.

Despite arguments from Representative Curtis Schomer, who endorsed the bill as a way to diversify state assets and potentially secure higher returns, the proposal failed in a 59-41 vote in the House of Representatives on February 21.

South Dakota

South Dakota’s HB 1202, which proposed allocating up to 10% of the state’s public funds into Bitcoin, was rejected by the House Commerce and Energy Committee in a 9-3 vote on February 24.

While Representative Logan Manhart, the bill’s sponsor, argued that Bitcoin could preserve value in inflationary environments, Matt Clark, South Dakota’s state investment officer, cautioned against the asset’s volatility.

North Dakota

North Dakota’s proposal, HB 1184, which sought to explore the feasibility of a Bitcoin reserve, failed to pass the House with a vote of 57-32.

However, that doesn’t mean the Peace Garden State has completely turned its back on crypto-related initiatives. The Legislative Assembly of North Dakota is still considering a Republican-sponsored resolution that encourages the State Treasurer and State Investment Board to pour select state funds into digital assets and precious metals, Legiscan shows.

That resolution passed a second reading in the North Dakota House and is headed to the State Senate Industry and Business Committee for further consideration, according to state government records.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s HB 2664 proposed investing up to 10% of the state’s funds in Bitcoin, but was effectively killed.

The Republican-led bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Michael Cabell and Rep. Aaron Kaufer, was first introduced last November. The legislation would have authorized the Pennsylvania State Treasurer to invest in cryptocurrencies, with public funds being poured into those digital assets using a secure custody solution, or invested in exchange-traded products that track the price of digital assets such as Bitcoin.

Wyoming

Wyoming’s bill, introduced in mid-January, was rejected by the state committee on February 6, with just one out of eight lawmakers supporting the initiative, the State of Wyoming Legislature’s records show.

The legislation called for the investment of state funds and permanent funds into Bitcoin. Under the bill, up to 3% of each of the general fund, the permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund, and the permanent land fund may be poured into the largest digital asset by market capitalization.

State and national Bitcoin reserves

The momentum behind Bitcoin reserves at the state level can be traced back to the endorsement of a national Bitcoin stockpile from U.S. President Donald Trump during his election campaign last year.

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, chair of the Senate subcommittee on digital assets, introduced a bill in July 2024 calling for the U.S. government to purchase 1 million Bitcoin over five years for a national strategic reserve, yet her state’s own Bitcoin reserve proposal has struggled to gain traction.

Moving forward

Although there’s been pushback from some states, Bitcoin reserve proposals are advancing in other regions.

Utah is making the most significant progress, with its Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments bill passing the revenue and taxation subcommittee in a 4-2-1 vote on February 20.

HB 230 is now just one step away from reality, allowing the state treasurer to allocate up to 5% of public funds to digital assets, with Bitcoin being the only asset meeting the $500 billion market cap requirement, making it the primary candidate for the state’s reserve asset.

Texas, known for its crypto-friendly stance, is pushing forward with two distinct Bitcoin-related proposals.

One bill would allow the state to allocate up to 1% of its general revenue fund to Bitcoin, while a second bill addresses Bitcoin donations and crypto payment conversions.

On February 25, the Oklahoma House Government Oversight Committee advanced HB 1203, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, with a 12-2 vote.

Arizona’s Senate Finance Committee advanced SB 1025, which proposes up to 10% of public funds, including pensions, to be invested in assets like Bitcoin. The bill is now pending a House vote.

With 18 bills currently pending across various states, the movement for state Bitcoin reserves remains alive and well as lawmakers continue to weigh the potential of digital assets in public finance.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on February 27, 2025. It was last updated with additional detail on March 2.

North Korean hackers have started laundering stolen Bybit funds, with blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic tracking over $140 million in initial transactions designed to obscure the money trail.

The stolen funds are being systematically moved through anonymous exchanges before being converted to Bitcoin, a process that makes it harder to trace and recover the assets, the firm wrote in a blog post on Saturday.

“The second step of the laundering process is to ‘layer’ the stolen funds in order to attempt to conceal the transaction trail,” Elliptic wrote. “This transaction trail can be followed, but these layering tactics can complicate the tracing process, buying the launderers valuable time to cash out the assets.”

The $1.46 billion social engineering attack, which took place on Friday and consisted mostly of Ethereum, is the most significant theft in crypto history, surpassing the $611 million stolen from Poly Network in 2021. 

Elliptic and Arkham Intelligence have linked the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, citing the use of decentralized exchanges and other services, including cross-chain bridges and coin swap services in a bid to throw off the scent.

“If previous laundering patterns are followed, we might expect to see the use of mixers next to further obfuscate the transaction trail,” it said. However, that may prove challenging due to the “sheer volume of stolen assets.”

Within hours of the theft, attackers distributed the stolen assets across 50 different wallets, each holding approximately 10,000 ETH. The funds are now being systematically emptied and converted to Bitcoin, according to Elliptic.

The attackers first converted stolen tokens like stETH and cmETH to Ethereum using decentralized exchanges, likely to avoid potential asset freezes. 

This matches Lazarus Group’s typical laundering playbook of converting stolen tokens to “native” blockchain assets before further obfuscation, Elliptic wrote.

To date, the group has stolen over $3 billion in crypto assets since 2017, reportedly funding North Korea’s ballistic missile program with the proceeds, according to a UN report last year, though that figure is suspected to be much higher, Elliptic noted.

As a result of the theft on Sunday, Bybit is now facing pressure from users’ withdrawals, who have since pulled roughly 23,000 BTC from Bybit’s hot wallet, data from Arkham Intelligence shows.

The exchange’s main wallets show its Bitcoin balance has dropped from 70,000 BTC to just over 52,000 BTC, indicating an outflow of roughly $1.7 billion since Friday afternoon.

Further analysis suggests Bybit has seen outflows totaling $6 billion across various crypto.

Anonymous crypto exchange blamed

Elliptic and others, including ZachXBT, have also pointed to anonymous crypto exchange eXch as having processed “tens of millions of dollars” in stolen assets from the hack despite direct requests from Bybit to block the activity.

“The stolen Ethereum is steadily being converted to Bitcoin, using eXch and other services,” Elliptic wrote Sunday.

A purported emailed response from eXch, archived on X on Saturday and cited by Elliptic, alleges the crypto exchange chose not to acknowledge requests from Bybit, claiming the latter has made “direct attacks on the reputation” against the former in the past.

“It is difficult for us to understand the expectation of collaboration” from an organization that has “actively undermined our reputation,” the email from eXch reads.

The exchange did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

In a post to a Bitcoin forum on Sunday, eXch claimed allegations it was facilitating money laundering were untrue.

“We are not laundering money for Lazarus/DPRK,” eXch wrote, claiming that such an allegation was the “perspective of some people that wish decentralized coins’ fungibility and on-chain privacy to vanish.”

It added: “The insignificant part of funds that was processed by us from the Bybit hack in an isolated case will be donated to various open-source initiatives dedicated to privacy and security both inside and outside crypto space.”

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair