XRP surged 28% following President Trump's announcement of a national crypto reserve on Sunday, which would include the digital asset. According to Unchained, Ripple Labs executives were behind the scenes working to shape the composition of this reserve.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoty reportedly pitched President Trump to include Solana (SOL) alongside XRP in the crypto reserve plan. Their strategy aimed to present the reserve as supporting multiple American tokens and to add legitimacy to the initiative within the crypto community, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions.

The price jump came despite widespread criticism from crypto enthusiasts. Many questioned why Bitcoin and Ethereum – widely considered the most established cryptocurrencies – were not mentioned in Trump's announcement. Instead, the President focused on XRP, SOL, and ADA, which are generally not viewed as traditional stores of value.

Market sentiment remains skeptical about which tokens will actually be included in any final reserve. Polymarket odds currently show:

• Bitcoin: 64% probability of inclusion
• Ethereum: 42% probability
• XRP: 29% probability
• SOL: 28% probability

When asked about their role in promoting SOL's inclusion alongside XRP, a Ripple press representative directed inquiries to a tweet from Garlinghouse posted after Trump's announcement. "I've said this before – the crypto industry will achieve our goals (and beyond), IF WE WORK TOGETHER," Garlinghouse wrote, adding that "maximalism is the enemy of the industry's progress."

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has since suggested that Bitcoin may receive different treatment than other cryptocurrencies in the reserve. "A Bitcoin strategic reserve is something the President's interested in," Lutnick stated in an interview with The Pavlovic. "So Bitcoin is one thing, and then the other currencies, the other crypto tokens, I think, will be treated differently—positively, but differently."

The crypto industry now awaits the White House's first Crypto Policy Summit scheduled for Friday, which may provide clarity on the reserve's composition and procurement strategy. Key questions remain about whether meaningful amounts of tokens beyond Bitcoin and possibly Ethereum will actually be included, and how the government plans to acquire and manage these digital assets.

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko confirmed after the original report was published that he had not personally pitched the president on including SOL in a reserve.

The announcement comes amidst Ripple's ongoing legal battle with the SEC, which began in December 2020 during the final months of Trump's first administration. Despite the SEC dismissing enforcement actions against numerous crypto companies including Coinbase and Kraken, the Ripple case persists following a $125 million judgment against the company in August 2023.

Ripple has maintained good relations with the current Trump administration, with CEO Garlinghouse meeting Trump at Mar-a-Lago before his inauguration and the company reportedly contributing $5 million in XRP to Trump's inauguration fund. The administration's inclusion of XRP in the proposed reserve signals a potential shift in the regulatory approach to cryptocurrency, though the SEC case remains unresolved.