Binance CEO Richard Teng, head of the biggest crypto exchange in the world, said that President Trump’s Bitcoin reserve will spark more governments across the globe to consider Bitcoin adoption.
“The messaging is: The largest government, the largest economy, the biggest capital market in the world, is now holding Bitcoin as part of a reserve. [This will] cause many other governments to think through this issue,” Teng said, speaking at CNBC’s Converge Live event. “Many sovereign wealth funds are really starting to consider this issue.”
Interestingly, Teng’s comments echo those of his Binance predecessor Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who was forced to step down after pleading guilty to money laundering charges. CZ called the then-planned strategic Bitcoin reserve “fantastic” and highlighted the potential knock-on effect it could have, adding that it is “inevitable” that Hong Kong follows suit.
Spoke at CNBC Converge held at Jewel Changi Airport and decided to bring my luggage along just in case 🤣#Binance pic.twitter.com/SLvXTExNS4
— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) March 13, 2025
President Trump signed an executive order last week to establish the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a separate digital asset stockpile. However, Bitcoin slipped 5.7% in the hour following the announcement as the market reacted negatively to the reserve only being filled with assets seized in criminal and civil forfeiture cases, rather than purchasing more orange coins.
For this reason, the Binance CEO said the creation of the reserve was a “good first step” adding that the biggest benefit was the strong “positivity” and messaging to other governments around the world.
“It’s not a question of whether to allocate, it’s rather [are we] allocating 2% or 5%,” he said. “We’re having a lot of these important conversations now, the long-term drivers are very, very strong.”
President Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish Bitcoin Reserve, Crypto Stockpile
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve became reality on Thursday, as President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order authorizing the creation of the digital asset stockpile. White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks announced the news on X, claiming the initiative would not "cost taxpayers a dime.” “The Reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings,” Sacks wrote. In a bid to curry favor with the Bi...
He’s echoing sentiments voiced by analysts at financial service giant Fidelity Digital Assets, who predicted several countries would begin stockpiling Bitcoin this year. Major countries like Brazil, Japan, and Russia have all started the process of proposing a Bitcoin reserve of some kind.
In fact, the day before Trump signed the executive order, South Korean financial experts and politicians urged the government to integrate Bitcoin into its national reserves.
Chao Deng, CEO of Hong Kong-based crypto exchange HashKey Capital, confirmed that global crypto policies are influenced by the States.
“From what we observe from our other jurisdictions—in Asia, Europe, and even more in the emerging markets—the regulators are looking up to the U.S. regulator,” Deng said at the Converge Live event in Singapore
South Korea Should Consider Bitcoin Reserve, Say Industry Lobbyists, Democratic Party Members
South Korean financial experts and opposition politicians urged the country to integrate Bitcoin into its national reserves and develop a won-backed stablecoin at a forum held last Wednesday. The seminar, hosted at the National Assembly by the main opposition Democratic Party, analyzed potential responses to U.S. moves for a national reserve centered on Bitcoin, according to initial reporting from local media outlet The Korea Herald. The discussions came a day before President Donald Trump signe...
Current U.S. Bitcoin holdings
The U.S. government currently holds 198,000 BTC ($16.44 billion) seized through criminal and civil forfeiture cases, according to Arkham Intelligence data. Previously, the country had sold seized coins to much contention within the crypto community. But during his election 2024 campaign Trump vowed to stop this trend.
“Just by holding on to the seized Bitcoin, for now, the U.S. is going to be much better off in the long term,” the Binance CEO. “If you look at every government has sold their Bitcoin—Germany, the U.S.—if you look at the value of those assets now, they are so much higher.”
German Bitcoin Sale Netted 'Unprecedented' €2.6 Billion: Dresden Prosecutor
After emptying its Bitcoin wallets on Friday, German law enforcement have made it official: The "emergency sale" of nearly 50,000 Bitcoin is over and netted the agencies an "unprecedented" $2.88 billion (€2.639 billion), according to a press release shared with Decrypt. The Bitcoin stash was worth approximately $2.1 billion when it was seized in January as part of an investigation into German and Polish nationals accused of running piracy websites and money laundering. Their trial is still ongoi...
Germany sold 50,000 Bitcoin in July netting $2.88 billion, at the time Bitcoin was worth approximately $65,000 a piece but later soared all the way to $108,000 just six months later. That’s a 66% increase, meaning that Germany missed out on potentially $1.9 billion.
The leading crypto asset has since fallen to $82,613, still 27% higher than when Germany sold in the summer.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
