The much-anticipated White House Crypto Summit on Friday ended with a whimper rather than a bang for cryptocurrency traders, sending altcoins like XRP, Cardano’s ADA, and Solana’s SOL into steeper declines than market leader bitcoin (BTC).
Investors had pinned high hopes on President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance, expecting bold announcements about a U.S. strategic crypto reserve that would prominently feature major altcoins.
Instead, the summit delivered a more subdued outcome: a framework for stablecoin legislation before August and assurances of a lighter regulatory touch—moves that failed to ignite the market as anticipated.
Trump stated that it was “foolish” for the federal government to have sold significant amounts of its seized bitcoin, reinforcing a colloquial rule of “never sell your bitcoin.”
XRP experienced a decline of 3.5% over the past 24 hours, dropping to nearly $2.4, a reduction from earlier highs of $2.98 this week—marking a fall of nearly 20% from its Sunday peak post-Trump’s initial reserve announcement. Cardano’s ADA dropped over 5%, while Solana’s SOL fell 4%, hovering around $138 as of Saturday afternoon in Asia.
In comparison, Bitcoin showed more resilience, trading at $86,000, down 2.5% in the past 24 hours but faring better relative to the declines in altcoins.
The summit, chaired by Trump’s AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks, was positioned as a landmark event following the president’s earlier pledge to establish a U.S. crypto strategic reserve including BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA.
Trump’s posts on Sunday had sparked significant market reactions, with major cryptocurrencies surging up to 60% as traders anticipated a transformative policy shift. However, Sacks’ statement on Friday clarifying that Trump’s mention of five cryptocurrencies was merely illustrative—rather than a firm commitment—dampened expectations for sustained market rallies.
Additionally, the embrace of bitcoin may encourage other countries to follow suit, potentially serving as bullish catalysts in the months ahead.
“The U.S. prioritization of Bitcoin as a reserve asset not only legitimizes its status as ‘digital gold’ but also sets a precedent that could accelerate regulatory frameworks and drive institutional adoption globally,” Vincent Chok, CEO of First Digital, remarked in an email to CoinDesk. “This move will likely prompt various responses from global regulators.”
Chok added, “For those aligned with U.S. policies, it could accelerate the establishment of their own national strategic stockpiles. Such confidence from the federal government could prompt institutions to engage more actively, injecting liquidity into the decentralized finance market and expanding interest beyond Bitcoin to other digital assets, including stablecoins.”
