Industry leaders are meeting with President Donald Trump for the first-ever White House cryptocurrency summit Friday, a day after he signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.

The idea for the U.S. digital asset stockpile is part of Trump 's plans to "make sure the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World," Trump said in a Truth Social post Sunday.

Trump said four cryptocurrencies — Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano — along with Bitcoin and other valuable cryptocurrencies will be part of the U.S. strategic reserve. The five he named quickly rose in value following his announcement.

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"The reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings," said White House crypto czar and billionaire David Sacks in an X post Thursday.

The U.S. will not sell the bitcoin deposited into the reserve and the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce are authorized to develop strategies for acquiring more of the cryptocurrency so long as they do not raise costs for American taxpayers, the White House said.

The first established cryptocurrency, bitcoin, may be the best-known of the digital currencies. It's been the subject of debate in boardrooms, courtrooms, and in Congress. Yet, it remains a mystery to many Americans who have been hearing about the coin for the last decade.

What is bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency and virtual payment system designed to exist outside the control of an central entity. Holders can send and receive the digital tokens to anyone anywhere in the world.

For many, its major draw is that is it is not governed or issued by central banks or authorities. While traditional fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, are issued by governments that can produce them as needed, bitcoin has a limited supply and is produced by computers.

It runs on a network of computers in which all transactions are recorded, verified, and updated by technology known as blockchain, which is akin to an online public ledger meant to prevent fraud. Blockchain and bitcoin were created in 2009 by a person or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

The cryptocurrency is known for its price volatility , but some have gotten rich investing in the coin at the right time.

As of Friday afternoon, a bitcoin is worth about $87,000. Ownership of fractional shares of the currency is common, according to NerdWallet .

There are several ways to buy bitcoin including through a crypto exchange, on trading apps, or through an online broker. You can also buy bitcoin funds, the way you would purchase a mutual fund, or buy the coin directly on financial platforms like Cash App or PayPal.

Adam Shell contributed to this report. Reach Rachel Barber at rbarber@usatoday.com and follow her on X @rachelbarber_

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump wants a federal crypto reserve. What is bitcoin?