ZachXBT Questions ADA and XRP’s Role in Trump’s Crypto Reserve Strategy

The crypto space is buzzing with controversy following blockchain investigator ZachXBT’s critical remarks about Cardano’s (ADA) and XRP’s legitimacy, especially in light of former President Donald Trump’s new crypto reserve announcement.

🇺🇸 After months of speculation, President Donald Trump confirmed Bitcoin and Ether will anchor a new US crypto reserve, fueling a fresh market rally.#CryptoRally #StrategicReserve https://t.co/nh0RYc2kRZ

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) March 3, 2025

Trump’s recent policy shift, which suggests incorporating crypto assets into a national strategic reserve, has drawn both praise and criticism.

However, ZachXBT’s argument that ADA and XRP lack major stablecoin issuers—such as Circle, Tether, or Paxos—has sparked debates about their role in the market.

In response to various Twitter users, his comments add to the ongoing battle for legitimacy among blockchain networks, raising questions about whether Trump’s policy will favor certain assets over others.

ZachXBT’s Critique: A Lack of Stablecoin Adoption?

ZachXBT, known for his investigative work exposing scams in the crypto industry, took to Twitter to voice his skepticism about ADA and XRP’s legitimacy.

One of the better indicators to judge how legitimate a chain is by how many native stables they have issued from Circle, Tether, or Paxos.

Both ADA and XRP have zero from major stablecoin issuers….

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) March 3, 2025

He argued that one of the best indicators of a blockchain’s success is the presence of major stablecoins issued by Circle, Tether, or Paxos.

He pointed out that both Cardano and XRP have failed to attract any such issuers, making their standing as competitors to Ethereum or Solana questionable.

When challenged by users who suggested that stablecoin issuers can act as gatekeepers or favor chains they have invested in, ZachXBT doubled down.

He maintained that if these blockchains had demonstrated enough value, stablecoin issuers would have already integrated with them.

The point is Circle/Paxos/Tether would have already integrated with those chains if they saw value to capture

XRPL / Cardano are supposedly competitors to Ethereum or Solana yet couldn’t attract major stablecoin issuers?

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) March 3, 2025

His critiques sparked sharp responses, particularly from Cardano supporters. One user accused him of being an “entitled elitist” who underestimated Circle’s barriers on Cardano.

Where does this entitlement comes from ? Like " i know everything about crypto"

Dude, you have no idea how much circle asked to bring stables to Cardano. Just stick to helping high profile big number scams (ignore every DM from normies who seeked your help )

This is not your…

— Srink (@atomofgod) March 3, 2025

Others pointed out that Bitcoin itself does not have stablecoins from these issuers, to which ZachXBT countered that Bitcoin had omnilayer stablecoins and a fundamentally different value proposition compared to ADA and XRP.

Ripple supporters also pushed back, citing Ripple’s recent launch of RLUSD, a stablecoin.

However, ZachXBT dismissed this as increasing centralization on a supposedly decentralized chain.

So more centralization on a supposedly “decentralized” chain? Got it.

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) March 3, 2025

Particularly regarding this centralization concern, a user asked under the tweet.

“Being dependant on circle doesn’t that make it even more centralized?”

However, Zach clarified again, saying:

“I am not arguing whether the presence of major stablecoin issuers is good or bad for decentralization. They are simply an indicator of which chains are valuable…”

I am not arguing whether the presence of major stablecoin issuers is good or bad for decentralization.

They are simply an indicator of which chains are valuable bc their main goal is to capture as much value as possible so if XRP or Cardano had value to capture they would have…

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) March 3, 2025

Trump’s Crypto Policy and Its Market Impact

The debate over ADA and XRP comes momentarily as Donald Trump’s policy toward cryptocurrency gains clarity.

His campaign’s recent push for integrating crypto into a national strategic reserve has generated optimism within the industry.

Eric Trump has praised the initiative as empowering retail investors while reducing their reliance on traditional financial institutions.

I love the genius of announcing a strategic reserve on a Sunday, when traditional markets are closed and Wall Street sleeps. For the first time, retail investors win. Traditional finance better catch up, or it will quickly become extinct. The world no longer runs on a Mon-Friday,… pic.twitter.com/EPtbEisbdI

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) March 3, 2025

However, others, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, have cautioned against spreading the reserve across multiple cryptocurrencies, arguing that focusing on Bitcoin would be more effective.

Excited to learn more. Still forming an opinion on asset allocation, but my current thinking is:

1. Just Bitcoin would probably be the best option – simplest, and clear story as successor to gold
2. If folks wanted more variety, you could do a market cap weighted index of crypto… https://t.co/jv8Gcn8N2S

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) March 3, 2025

Bitwise’s Jeff Park also shared similar concerns, warning that Trump’s approach could be a significant political miscalculation.

He believes that attempting to include multiple cryptocurrencies in the reserve—rather than concentrating on Bitcoin—risks introducing volatility and diluting its effectiveness.

Huge political miscalculation by Trump in underestimating just how crucial it was for the Strategic Reserve to focus solely on Bitcoin.

Sad!

— Jeff Park (@dgt10011) March 2, 2025

This perspective aligns with the broader market sentiment, where Bitcoin remains the dominant store of value which is the crypto world. As of the time of writing, Bitcoin still maintains over 60% dominance of the market’s value.

Despite these concerns, the market has reacted positively to Trump’s crypto-friendly stance, with prices surging.

Bitcoin jumped 8% to $93,007, while Ether surged 9.7% to $2,438. XRP also jumped 24.5% to $2.80. Other major cryptocurrencies, including Solana (+18.7%), Cardano (+58.8%), and Dogecoin (+10.7%), also saw substantial gains.

For now, the market sees this as a positive development in the short term, but the ongoing discussion worries about the decision’s long-term impact.