Strategic Reserves and Power Plays: The Crypto Order in the Trump Era

Author: Zeke, Researcher at YBB Capital

Introduction

For President Donald Trump, the world is an episode of The Apprentice. Less than a month into his presidency, many people, from internal government employees to foreign leaders, have received his metaphorical notice that "you're fired."

As the show continues to air over the next four years, how can cryptocurrencies, as key contestants, successfully advance to the next round? Perhaps we must first understand the boss himself.

1. The market likes surprises, but I control the pace

In Trump's autobiography, The Art of the Deal, two pillars define his negotiation philosophy: controlling the pace and creating surprises. These intertwined strategies not only built his early business empire, but also shaped his political skills in his later years.

• “Control the pace”: In a deal, you have to set the pace. If you let the other party dictate the timing, you’ve already lost half the battle.”

• “Create surprise”: “The element of surprise is crucial. When they think you’ve given in, make new demands on them—that keeps them off balance.”

Looking back at Trump’s early business negotiations, his mastery of dealmaking pace was evident from the start.

In 1976, during the Grand Hyatt project in New York,Trump used a high-stakes deadline to pressure the city government. When officials asked him to cover the cost of renovating a nearby subway station, he threatened to abandon the deal three days before the city government's budget deadline. The cash-strapped City Council was forced to approve a tax cut that increased government subsidies from $40 million to $120 million.

During the construction of Trump Tower in 1983, he took his delaying tactics to the extreme. When the project was 90% complete, he suddenly sued contractors for delaying construction, taking advantage of their urgent need for the final payment. This legal maneuver enabled him to cut construction costs by 23%.

The acquisition of Atlantic City Casinos in 1985 was the pinnacle of Trump's "ambush strategy." After eight months of negotiations, when the seller, Pratt Hotel Group, finalized the deal and prepared to hold a signing ceremony, Trump made an unexpected new request - requiring the seller to assume $300 million in debt 48 hours before the deal was completed. This seemingly reckless move was actually a carefully planned gamble. He knew that the seller had already spent $2 million in legal fees, and if the deal failed, it would trigger a financial crisis and force the company into bankruptcy. Faced with increasing pressure, the seller finally gave in and allowed Trump to buy the casino at a price 40% below market value. This "sunk cost blackmail" strategy has become Trump's signature move, and "The Art of the Deal" describes it this way: "When they think they have won, it is the best time to launch a fatal blow." To this day, Trump still uses these strategies on the geopolitical stage. On February 28, he held a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House, which was broadcast live on global television. Trump, as always, carefully planned these actions. 1. On the eve of the meeting, he reached a shocking agreement with Russia, establishing four key consensuses. The most important of these is that the two sides promised to cooperate in future geopolitical and economic cooperation, provided that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is resolved. 2. He initially asked Ukraine to repay $500 billion, but adjusted this requirement during the meeting, insisting that 50% of Ukraine's future revenue from strategic resources such as rare earth metals, lithium, and graphite be injected into the US-led "reconstruction fund."

3. The meeting was broadcast live to a global audience that was stunned. Trump’s unprecedented and sudden demand for Zelensky to leave the White House led to the breakdown of the negotiations.

Meanwhile, Trump’s aggressive trade measures were met with equal retaliation from foreign counterparts, making it a turbulent weekend for the president.

From these cases, we can distill Trump’s negotiation principles into four key principles:

1. Set an extreme initial demand to force the opponent to accept less than ideal conditions.

2. Use all available levers to maximize gains.

3. Maintain unpredictability and make it difficult for opponents to anticipate his moves.

4. Use the power of the media to amplify the impact of events and change public perceptions.

However, as recent countermeasures taken by several countries have shown, the most effective way to offset Trump’s strategy may be surprisingly simple: refuse to engage. Refuse to negotiate.

Second, Strategic Reserves

On Sunday after the US-Ukraine bilateral meeting, Trump made two consecutive statements on his social media platform Truth Social: XRP, SOL, and ADA will be included in the "Crypto Strategic Reserve", and ETH and BTC will still be core holdings.

After the news was released, the market showed a bullish momentum. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin surged 9% to $93,969, Ethereum rose 13% to $2,516, Solana soared 24% to $174.64, Cardano soared 70% to $1.11, and XRP soared 34% to $2.93.

However, the reaction from the crypto community was noticeably different from the usual enthusiasm. The key point of contention came from a suspicious user on Hyperliquid who, with seemingly perfect timing, went long on BTC and ETH with millions of dollars and 50x leverage. Social media analysts believed that this person deliberately traded on a DEX to avoid revealing their KYC information to centralized exchanges.

Conspiracy theories quickly spread - with some speculating that the choice of Sunday to release the news was a strategic consideration to get institutional investors to sell their cryptocurrency holdings on Monday, effectively using the cryptocurrency market as a liquidity exit. Others believe that Trump’s surprise move to announce the establishment of a cryptocurrency reserve is in line with his usual strategy - but the real motivation is much more complicated.

Based on Trump’s “Art of the Deal” philosophy, some possible strategic goals include:

1. Aim high and never give up until the goal is achieved - - While multiple cryptocurrencies are listed as strategic reserves, the actual goal may just be to ensure the strategic position of BTC. This will force other countries to buy Bitcoin and ensure that the United States maintains its dominance over the asset.

2. Use influence to control market trends - As president, Trump now has unparalleled power to curate narratives about strategic reserves, similar to how Bitcoin ETF hype drives market cycles.

3. Expand his family’s influence in the cryptocurrency field - - The Trump family has turned from real estate to cryptocurrency, seeking power and influence in every possible field.

4. Uncover a deeper financial network - The selection of these specific cryptocurrencies indicates that there are undisclosed interests behind the “White House approved” tokens.

5. Force the US government to unlock seized cryptocurrencies-The United States holds billions of dollars in confiscated crypto assets, and Trump may be trying to transfer these assets into official reserves or issue related bonds with them.

6. Redefine strategic reserves in the digital economy-Traditional strategic reserves (such as oil, gold, and cash) have a clear purpose. Even if BTC can be compared to gold, what is the reason for including SOL, ADA, and XRP? Trump may have planned to promote large-scale adoption of these chains in key industries, positioning their tokens as the "oil" that drives blockchain infrastructure.

Third, live to die

Trump's decision-making style is deeply influenced by his father, Fred Trump, who instilled a zero-sum game worldview - a relationship based on winners and losers, domination and obedience. This shaped Trump's combat-oriented approach to business and diplomacy, and even shaped his controversial encouragement of the January 6 Capitol riots after his defeat in the 2020 election.

Cryptocurrency investors often praise Trump as the "cryptocurrency president," but the key question is whether their interests are truly aligned with Trump.Trump's "America First" and "Family First" philosophies will undoubtedly extend to his cryptocurrency policies. While the exact impact on non-U.S. and non-Trump-affiliated cryptocurrency projects remains uncertain, the overall trend is clear: Trump is replicating his trade war strategy to ensure that U.S. and Trump-affiliated projects dominate the blockchain space. Three immediate trends are emerging: 1. U.S. crypto projects will receive priority through ETFs and strategic reserves. 2. U.S. projects may enjoy capital gains tax exemptions, while non-compliant or non-favorable projects may face targeted taxation. 3. Trump-affiliated projects may receive special rights, such as regulatory sandboxes, preferential treatment, and direct capital injections.

In addition to these clear trends, Trump could go a step further and target non-US Bitcoin mining pools to ensure that every newly minted Bitcoin is as close to “Made in the USA” as possible.

In addition, regulatory controls could be extended to the protocol layer itself, requiring projects to integrate US regulatory interfaces - effectively limiting on-chain growth to “US-approved” ecosystems.

With multiple levers at Trump’s disposal over the next four years, the Americanization of crypto has entered an irreversible phase.For those who navigate this new reality, there are only two choices:

Adapt to the new order or refuse to play the game.

The Shadow of DOGE

Trump’s close friend Elon Musk played a key role in the 2021 crypto bull run, turning Dogecoin (DOGE) — originally created as a joke — into a currency that has both reached a market value moonshot and achieved a veritable moonshot mission.

With multiple levers at Trump’s disposal over the next four years, the Americanization of crypto has entered an irreversible phase.For those who navigate this new reality, there are only two choices:

Adapt to the new order or refuse to play the game.

The Shadow of DOGE

Trump’s close friend Elon Musk played a key role in the 2021 crypto bull run, turning Dogecoin (DOGE) — originally created as a joke — into a currency that has both reached a market value moonshot and achieved a veritable moonshot mission.

Dogecoin was born as an online meme, originally developed by engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer in 2013 to satirize the rampant speculation in the cryptocurrency market at the time. The coin was developed in just three hours and features unlimited inflation, even referring to mining as "digging holes," in direct contradiction to Bitcoin's scarcity narrative.

However, Musk has given the old meme new life. Since 2019, he has publicly embraced the title of "Father of Dogecoin," fueling market enthusiasm with slogans such as "to the moon" and "The People's Currency." In 2025, he even named SpaceX's lunar satellite mission "DOGE-1," making it the first space project to be funded entirely by Dogecoin. This meme-driven frenzy has pushed Dogecoin up more than 7,000% in 2021, with a market value briefly exceeding $85 billion, surpassing General Motors and other corporate giants - a stunning transformation from a joke to a top 10 crypto asset.

The greatest tragedy in the world is to become what you once despised. Cryptocurrency is now repeating the trajectory of its original oppressors. Once a weapon against centralized control, Bitcoin is now a tool of US financial hegemony.

The market moves with Trump’s tweets—from BTC to TRUMP coins, Melania coins, and now to these so-called “strategic reserves”. Where the baton points, the market follows. Cryptocurrency has lost its independence.

When revolutionaries become those in power, the cycle is complete. Industries that once challenged authority have now become extensions of authority, embodying what authority wants to destroy. The dragon slayer has become the dragon.

V. A double-edged sword

Putting aside personal interests, Trump is undoubtedly a legendary figure in the political and business circles in American history, and BTC will follow him to the moon.

But what innovation can survive under authoritative intervention and excessive regulation?

I used to be frustrated by the lack of ambition of altcoins, but now, I regret their misfortune. The struggle between power and attention is now completely entrenched on the chain. As Vitalik Buterin recently responded to Ethereum OGs on X:

"When I hear crypto Twitter and VCs praise '99% loss rate PvP, KOL casinos' as the best product-market fit for crypto — and then call the desire for better things 'elitism' — should I be happy?"

This trend will only intensify, PvP is just a microcosm, In the next four years, the so-called "best projects" may only exist in Trump's tweets.

Trump's views on cryptocurrency have always been a double-edged sword.

Crypto will split, split into "traditional" and "Americanized" factions. The public chain wars of the past will expand to a larger battlefield. Under Trump’s aggressive tactics and overwhelming influence, this war will be brutal.

But for cryptocurrency to truly be reborn, it must go through this reckoning.