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President Donald Trump has found a new way to reward his supporters. On Sunday, Trump announced in a Truth Social post that he will issue an executive order creating a Crypto Strategic Reserve that will include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and three other cryptocurrencies. I will make sure the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World, Trump wrote. The announcement, which comes days before a White House crypto summit set for Friday, immediately drove up the price of bitcoin by about 10% on Sunday, while boosting ethereum 7%; though the biggest beneficiaries were Solana (up about 20%), XRP (25%), and Cardano (56%), the three lesser-known coins included in the reserve announcement. While a strategic reserve of cryptocurrency has been floated by legislators and advocatesincluding Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, who has proposed a reserve specifically for Bitcointhere is no clear reason for the government to buy these assets. The real winners are the crypto-loving Trump supporters, crypto lobbyists, and executives who will benefit from the governments investment in their favorite coins. While Trump has not yet issued his executive order with specifics about how this reserve would work, heres the general idea: The government would buy up large quantities of the five named cryptocurrencies and hold them for a set number of years, placing set limits on how and when they can sell. While Trump has not specified amounts, Lummis had proposed that the Treasury Department buy one million bitcoin, now a sum of more than $90 billion by todays prices (one bitcoin costs about $90,000). Additionally the government would be barred from selling the coins for 20 years unless theyre spent paying down the national debt. The government already holds more than 200,000 tokens (about $18 billion) from assets seized in criminal and civil proceedings, so a reserve could mean that it is unable to sell the coins its already acquired. In August, experts told Fast Company that holding volatile assets such as cryptocurrencies could create significant liabilities for the government, which is counted upon for stability in times of economic crisis. At the time, Todd Phillips, an assistant professor of law at Georgia State University, called the idea of a Bitcoin strategic reserve a pump scheme that would solely reward current holders. Critics have lambasted the move as a waste of taxpayer money, especially as the government makes critical cuts to federal employment, scientific research, and international aid. While he chokes off cancer research and fires VA researchers, the President is using your taxpayer dollars to buy crypto and enrich his personal allies, Washington Sen. Patty Murray wrote on X on Monday. Even some Silicon Valley mainstays who have been supportive of Trump came out against the reserve. Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale said that while hes pro-crypto and supports the administrations cost-cutting efforts, the government shouldnt be buying crypto. Cut it out with these schemes guys, he wrote on X on Sunday. Investor Jason Calacanis echoed that sentiment: Its a terrible idea to spend tax payer money buying the crypto bags of the people who donated many millions to him, he wrote on X. Its an even worse idea to pick winners like this. Taxation is theft. It should be kept to a minimum.Its wrong to steal my money for grift on the left; its also wrong to tax me for crypto bro schemes.Efficient defense, courts, national parks (should fund themselves), prisons, etc – fine. Cut it out with these schemes guys. https://t.co/owIdAJvXoA— Joe Lonsdale (@JTLonsdale) March 2, 2025 According to one preelection poll, Trump was disproportionately supported by cryptocurrency holders who supported him 12 percentage points more than his rival U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. As such, he campaigned on the promise of boosting crypto: You’re going to be very happy with me, Trump told attendees at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July. If Bitcoin is going to the moon . . . I want America to be the nation that leads the way. While Trumps crypto faithful supporters cheer the announcement, its clear that this isnt about promoting economic stability or making important investments but rather rewarding a key constituency of the MAGA movement. And the American people are fronting the cost.
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E-Commerce
Inflation in Europe eased to an annual 2.4% in February, supporting the case for another interest rate cut from the European Central Bank but leaving open how far the central bank will go in lowering borrowing costs for an economy that’s still struggling to show robust growth.The February figure for the 20 countries that use the euro currency was down from 2.5% in January as energy inflation dwindled and major economy France saw a rate of only 0.9%, the European Union’s statistical agency Eurostat reported Monday.The lower consumer price inflation figure supports the view that the ECB is succeeding in its battle to get inflation back to its target of 2% and can focus on supporting tepid growth. The bank’s rate-setting council is expected to cut its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 2.5% on Thursday. That rate influences borrowing costs throughout the economy, and a cut will make it easier to borrow money to buy a house or expand a factory.A rate cut Thursday had already been pencilled in by analysts but the new figure gives added support for a cut.Growth worries have come to the fore after the eurozone stagnated in the last three months of 2024, as consumers still smarting from an outbreak of inflation remained cautious in their spending habits. Business worried about possible new tariffs on exports to the US under President Donald Trump. Political paralysis in France, where no party has a majority in parliament to address an outsized budget deficit, and the transition to a new government in Germany after the Feb. 23 national election have also left businesses uncertain about the future.Recent surveys of purchasing managers by S&P Global suggested the eurozone economy just barely grew in February.The big question at Thursday’s interest rate meeting is whether bank President Christine Lagarde will drop clues about how far the bank will go in cutting rates. While inflation is well down from its peak of 10.6% in October, 2022, some indicators of prices pressures remain elevated. Costs for services a broad category ranging from haircuts and hotel rooms to concert tickets and medical care remained at 3.7%.At its last meeting on Jan. 30, the bank said the benchmark rate was still high enough to restrict growth; dropping that mention on Thursday could be seen as a signal that future cuts will be more limited.A top ECB official argued in a recent speech that recent changes in the economy may constrain how far the bank can go in cutting rates.Recent evidence suggests “that the era during which risks to inflation have persistently been to the downside is likely to have come to an end,” said Isabel Schnabel, a member of the six-member executive board that runs the bank day to day at its Frankfurt headquarters. Schnabel argued that the so-called neutral rate at which the economy is neither held back nor stimulated has risen in recent years. David McHugh, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD has launched a sale of its Hong Kong shares to raise up to $5.2 billion via an accelerated book-building, according to a deal term sheet seen by Reuters on Monday. The company has set a price range of HK$333HK$345 per share for the offering, representing an up to 8.4% discount compared to the stock market’s closing price of HK$363.60 on Monday. The offering is expected to be priced on Monday, the term sheet said. BYD did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment. The company plans to use the proceeds to invest in research and development, expand overseas businesses, supplement working capital, and for general purposes. The deal adds to a sharp pickup this year in share offering momentum in Hong Kong, the preferred destination for Chinese companies looking to raise offshore capital, as investors bet on a possible recovery in China’s economic growth. Shares of China’s largest bubble tea and drinks chain, Mixue Group, jumped more than 47% in their debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday, with new listings in the city recording their strongest start to a year since 2021. The stellar start reinforces hopes for a strong year in new equity issuances by Chinese companies in Hong Kong, as Beijing steps up support for its private enterprises to revive a slowing economy amid heightened geopolitical tensions. The fundraising comes amid a hectic pace of hiring and expanding to other markets for BYD. BYD plans to hire 20,000 employees in Zhengzhou in the first quarter as it boosts production capacity, government-run Henan Daily reported last month. The company also aims to complete its $1 billion plant in Indonesia at the end of 2025, the head of its local unit said in January. BYD, which overshot its global sales target to more than four million units sold last year, opened its first EV plant in Southeast Asia in Thailand in 2024, worth $490 million and which has a production capacity of 150,000 units per year. Scott Murdoch, Reuters
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E-Commerce
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