The US crypto industry finally captured what it wanted when President Donald Trump announced Plans to develop a national crypto reserve On March 2. But instead of festival, the decision brought backlash – not from the usual suspects to traditional finances or regulators but from within the world of crypto.
The controversy arose from the selection of possessions in the reserve. During his election campaign, Trump promised to create a “Bitcoin national stockpile,” making the integration of Bitcoin (Btc) – and, to some extent, Ether (Eth) – Looking forward. However, the addition of XRP (XRP), Solana (Sol) and cardano (Ada) has divided the industry.
These three properties carry luggage, from centralization concerns to doubts about adoption in the real world. Proponents featured their technology advances and market potential, but skeptics argue that they lack stability, institutional confidence and acceptance of the global requirement for a national reserve.
Gemini’s co-founder Cameron Winklevoss was among those surprised by Trump’s decision. Source: Cameron Winklevoss
The chaos surrounding the announcement is short -lived. All five cryptocurrencies initially spiked the price but soon dropped to pre-announcements before recovering at the time of writing. XRP and ADA stand as exceptions, as they do not fall under their pre-announcement levels, even though they are also immune to severe volatility damage.
Each of the three selected altcoins carries something different to the table. Let us break up why they may have been chosen, and why their marriage is controversial.
Solana is fast and inexpensive but known to memecoins
Ethereum is leading the total amount locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DEFI), costing approximately 52% of the market with $ 50.59 billion, according to Defillama. This figure does not include its layer-2 networks, such as the base and arbitrum, which serves as scaling solutions developed Atop Ethereum and remain part of the wider ecosystem.
Solana follows a remote second with $ 7.32 billion on Defi TVL. The network has long been called a “Ethereum killer,” a term used for blockchains aimed at challenging Ethereum’s dominance. Throughout 2024 and early 2025, Solana appeared to be getting land Thanks to its high throughput, with the ability to handle thousands of transactions per second.
Meanwhile, the developers are more resolved by it Sometimes-chronic outage issuesallowing the network to achieve mass traffic carried by the Memecoin Boom.
Solana is second in the industry on Defi TVL but is still far from Ethereum. Source: Delete
Fund managers Applied for sol-based exchange-traded funds (ETF).
Recently, Solana’s Memecoin Boom has become chaotic. Sensationalized livestreaming events designed to pump token prices next to widespread scams, rug pulls and bot-driven trading has raised concerns about sector maintenance. Number of new token launchs in Solana continues Refusal As the doubt grows.
The influential voices raised their concerns about the influence of Solana’s venture capital. National Security Agency Whistleblower Edward Snowden called Solana’s hope in venture capital In November, suggesting that the decentralization of the network was compromised. He described Solana as “born in prison,” indicating that hoping for VC funding may Limit autonomy and alignment On the foundational principles of the blockchain.
Related: Is the ‘trump effect’ of crypto?
“These possession, like any other tokens, do not work as real reserves owned. Adding them to a US crypto reserve will be as unreasonable as included with Nvidia’s stock in a strategic reserve,” Georgii Verbitskii, founder of Tymio, said to CointeleGraph.
“While the highest wealth funds, such as Norway’s, are invested in equality for long-term return, their goal is different from a national reserve, which should be built on generally recognized, decentralized properties. Bitcoin is the only logical choice for such a reserve,” he added.
Slow and steady: Cardano is still in career
Cardano adopted a slow and steady approach. The network is often bashed for sluggish rollout features compared to other major blockchains, but its supporters believe that peer-review, research-driven approach will eventually pay.
So far, however, this measured approach has left Cardano embracing an industry that moves the breakneck speed. Users flow into the chains where their funds feel safe or where they see the most popular income – just as Solana’s memecoin Frenzy attracts the attention – means Cardano is struggling to maintain speed.
On March 5, Cardano’s Defi Ecosystem held just $ 412 million on TVL, Defillma said. The network is frequent Pinagarauan As a “ghost chain,” which means that onchain activity is minimal, which is often met with strong pushing from its supporters.
Data from Artemis shows that on March 4, Cardano recorded fewer than 40,000 -day -day active users, while Solana had more than 5 million – though Solana was overly reviewed for Strong Bot Activity.
Sun -Embroidery Cardano active addresses. Source: Artemis
A major advantage of Cardano is holding networks such as Solana is decentralization. While the project initially relied on the IOHK, the private Creatures Founded by Charles Hoskinson, since it moved into a community -driven model. Plomin of the hard fork of January That activated the entire decentralized management mechanism For the ADA holders, followed by the establishment of its own onchain Constitution In February.
According to the University of Edinburgh Decentralization Index, Cardano rank As the most decentralized blockchain in 2023. The network was leading the coefficient of Nakamoto, a metric used to measure decentralization by identifying the minimum number of creatures needed to control 51% of the network.
Large names use XRP, but centralization is still an issue
The XRP has a strong case for being included in the National Crypto Reserve, according to Vugar Usi Zade, chief operating officer of the cryptocurrency exchanget, who told the cointelegraph: “The XRP already has cross-border payments, with major financial institutions that use it to mystreamline transactions.”
Compared to traditional financial systems, the XRP offers faster, cheaper transactions for both financial and individual institutions. There are many major creatures – including the American Express, SBI and SIAM COMMERCIAL BANK -Sts or included XRP with their cross-border payment solutions.
The network has long been criticized for being more centralized than cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether. One of the main reasons for this understanding is that the ripple controls a significant part of the XRP supply. When cryptocurrency was created, 100 billion coins were pre-minutes locked In Escrow.
Source: Zachxbt
That said, there are counterarguments against the claims of centralization. Over time, the ripple reduced itself Validator Presence, which allows third-party institutions to take a greater role in the network validation process.
In addition, XRP transactions do not require Ripple’s approval, as the network operates independently, with transactions arranging in seconds. It is also repeated that Ripple emphasizes its legal separation from the XRP ledger, saying that it does not control the XRP.
Related: Why is the Ripple Sec case still in the middle of a sea of resolutions?
Bitcoin is the clear frontrunner, but even if it has unbelievers
The three tokens-XRPs, Sol and Ada-every one have their own strengths and drawbacks, but one characteristic they share is that they are home-based American projects.
According to Bitget’s Zade:
“Let’s be honest: none of them have a level of trust in the institution or liquidity of Bitcoin. That volatility can be a problem, especially for properties that mean to be a solid part of a national reserve.”
While Bitcoin is the clear frontrunner for integration with the US strategic crypto reserve, some argue that even Bitcoin carries significant risks. Its value is fully speculative, and its role as a property reserve can make it a major target for opponent countries, Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, argued.
“If computing volume becomes a reality, it can break the security of bitcoin’s cryptographic security, which is worth it overnight,” he told cointelegraph. “This is a real risk, given how fast technology is emerging. What happens if the opponent countries like China or Russia are developing computing capabilities and decide to target bitcoin?”
Although Trump’s crypto reserve plan was announced, it still requires the approval of Congress before becoming an official policy. Meanwhile, speculation -haka is mounted more details will be revealed during the Crypto Summit at the White House on March 7.
The main figures, including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, were invited to attend, which signed that the event could provide additional views on the administration’s digital asset approach.
Magazine: Charles Hoskinson, Cardano and Ethereum – for the record
