Annabelle Liang & Liv McMahon
President Donald Trump's decision to establish official government cryptocurrency reserves in the US has drawn criticism from industry watchers.
He has signed an executive order creating what he calls a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as well as a Digital Asset Stockpile, which will consist of other forms of digital currency.
The funds will be stocked with coins forfeited to the federal government as part of criminal or civil proceedings.
White House AI and crypto tsar David Sacks likened them to a "a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency", drawing comparison to the Kentucky military base that stores a significant portion of US gold assets.
However, some crypto enthusiasts have criticised the government for not being bolder, while others have raised question marks about the lack of transparency over the process.
Sacks has ordered a full accounting of the federal government's existing crypto reserves, which he estimated at 200,000 Bitcoin alone. That's worth $17.5bn (£13.6bn) at today's prices.
Speaking to reporters at the White House ahead of a special crypto summit on Friday, Sacks said that it was a "real shame that we did not maximise value for the American taxpayer."
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