Trump Launches ‘Digital Fort Knox’ for Bitcoin, But Crypto Markets Decline: Live Updates

The president plans to rescind the temporary legal status of approximately 240,000 Ukrainians who escaped the ongoing conflict with Russia, as confirmed by a senior administration official.

This action, confirmed to Reuters by the official and three additional sources, could lead to the rapid deportation of these refugees home, potentially as early as April.

This stands in stark contrast to the welcome extended to those fleeing the conflict by the Biden administration three years ago.

Trump’s not-so-reassuring response on the issue yesterday was:

The president is reportedly considering modifying the conditions under which the U.S. engages with NATO, prioritizing member states that allocate a specific percentage of their GDP to defense spending.

Officials informed NBC News that under this new policy, the U.S. may refrain from assisting a NATO ally that is attacked unless they meet a certain defense spending criterion.

This change would represent a departure from NATO’s Article 5, which declares that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all and has only been invoked once, in defense of the U.S. post-9/11.

Here’s the president appearing to misremember history regarding that point yesterday:

Gustaf Kilander has further details.

During a press conference yesterday, the president made several unconventional comments, including blaming “globalists” for negative market reactions to his tariff proposals, asserting that America doesn’t need Canadian lumber, and praising astronaut Suni Williams for her remarkable hair after nine months in space.

Here are his latest comments regarding Zelensky and the potential resolution to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

During an Oval Office discussion yesterday, the president targeted liberal commentators after Wallace criticized his decision to honor 13-year-old brain cancer survivor DJ Daniel as an honorary Secret Service agent during his congressional address on Tuesday night.

Wallace drew a contrast between this gesture and Trump’s pardoning of Capitol rioters, expressing hopes that Daniel “never has to defend the United States Capitol from Donald Trump’s supporters.”

Trump responded emphatically, declaring, “Worse than CNN is ‘MS-DNC,’ which is the least reputable. And the good news is very few people tune in to them anymore. They’ve lost all credibility; and, frankly, what Nicole Wallace said—I’ve never liked her, and she’s not very talented—but what she said about that young man is disgraceful. She should be compelled to resign.

“And Rachel Maddow should resign as well. No one watches her anyway. I find it hard to believe that they pay her as much as I hear—she has clearly lost all credibility. Both of them should resign based on what they said about that young, suffering individual.”

Here’s Josh Marcus reporting on Trump’s self-contradiction by claiming he never watches liberal networks such as MSNBC and CNN.

The president unexpectedly summoned a cabinet meeting yesterday to clarify the position of Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in light of significant judicial backlash regarding their power to enact mass dismissals of federal employees.

Trump informed his cabinet members that neither Musk nor his DOGE aides possess the authority to terminate government workers without express approval, aiming to put a definitive end to the weeks of confusion and turmoil.

Here’s how he articulated this during a recent question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office and on Truth Social:

The president postponed the planned 25 percent tariffs on the majority of goods from Mexico and Canada for reasons discussed in a phone call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Sheinbaum described her interaction with Trump as “excellent and respectful,” whereas Trudeau’s conversation was reportedly more “animated,” with the Canadian leader indicating expectations of a prolonged trade struggle with the U.S.

Trump stated he was granting an exemption for any products imported into the U.S. that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement established during his initial administration, but he intends to reinstate the tariff hikes on April 2.

Here’s Andrew Feinberg detailing the complete narrative.

Donald Trump has enacted an executive order to set up a strategic cryptocurrency reserve for the United States containing the 198,000 bitcoins that the government has acquired through law enforcement seizures, with an estimated worth of $17 billion.

According to White House cryptocurrency and AI advisor David Sacks, the initiative “will not cost taxpayers anything.”

“The U.S. will refrain from selling any bitcoins held in the Reserve. They will be preserved as a store of value,” Sacks indicated on X.

“The Reserve functions like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency commonly dubbed ‘digital gold.’”

However, the announcement caused the price of bitcoin to drop on Thursday evening, while the values of competing cryptocurrencies not part of the initiative also decreased.

In related news, Trump is hosting a “Digital Assets Summit” at the White House later today.

Merely one day of embarrassment over the party’s response to Donald Trump’s address to Congress was insufficient for the Democrats, as they had a second serving of it on Thursday.

Green, who was removed from Trump’s speech on Tuesday evening by security, appears to be in a better position as the controversy will likely boost his fundraising.

“I would do it again,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Whether the same can be said for his ten colleagues who engaged in what Jeffries termed a “political and partisan game” remains uncertain, as does the strategy that the Democratic leadership is pursuing.

Gustaf Kilander has the full report.