‘Trump Accounts’ for kids will exclude Bitcoin exposure for now

Tech billionaire Michael Dell’s $6.25 billion donation to expand President Donald Trump’s new child savings program has raised a fresh question across the crypto industry.

If Trump is openly pro-Bitcoin, why are Trump Accounts completely crypto-free, and could that change?

The Trump Accounts program, created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), gives every U.S. child a government-backed investment account with tax-advantaged growth.

Newborns from 2025 through 2028 will receive a $1,000 government seed deposit, and Dell’s newly announced funding will provide an additional $250 to 25 million older children who were born before 2025.

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“It’s designed to help families feel supported from the start and encourage them to keep saving as their children grow,” Michael Dell told CNBC.

Restricted menu

But the investment menu itself is tightly restricted.

According to Schwab’s guidance and Treasury outlines, Trump Accounts may only invest in:

• Index mutual funds
  
  
• Index ETFs
  

Crypto products, including spot Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum ETFs, and tokenized assets seem to be excluded for now.

That exclusion is striking, given Trump’s recent turn as one of Washington’s most vocal Bitcoin supporters. He has met with miners at the White House, pushed for Bitcoin mining to be done “in America,” encouraged the development of U.S. on-chain markets, and overseen the approval of a full suite of crypto ETFs.

As one crypto lobbyist told TheStreet Roundtable:

“It makes no sense that Bitcoin ETFs can sit in every major brokerage account, but not in the largest new savings program the U.S. has ever created.”

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Crypto firms expected to lobby for inclusion

Digital-asset firms including BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, and Grayscale are widely expected to lobby for access.

According to Farside Investors, spot Bitcoin ETFs have already attracted more than $57.69 billion in inflows, gaining entry into a government-backed child savings plan could add tens of billions in automatic inflows over the coming decade.

“Trump Accounts represent a potentially valuable tool for building up savings,” Schwab wrote in its explainer of the program, noting that contributions can grow tax-free and later roll into IRAs.

Crypto policy experts argue that if the intention is to give children long-term exposure to high-growth assets, then Bitcoin ETFs fit the thesis, especially now that ETFs are regulated, liquid, and widely traded on traditional exchanges.

“If crypto is allowed, the flow of new retail capital could be massive […] This could be a generational bullish catalyst,”  said crypto educator Tyler Reed.

Related: Trump’s 401(k) crypto order could be bigger than spot ETFs

Why Bitcoin ETFs weren’t included yet

Treasury officials say the first version of Trump Accounts focused on simplicity and low-risk assets. Many rules still require clarification, including how the accounts are opened, who administers them, and how long-term rollovers will be handled.

Even critics of the program acknowledge that future expansion is possible.

“Many rules and regulations need to be settled before we have a full picture of how Trump Accounts work,” Schwab wrote.

Policy observers note that nothing in OBBBA prevents Congress or Treasury from adding additional asset classes later, once the program stabilizes. With tens of millions of children eligible and Dell’s donation adding momentum, the U.S. has effectively created the largest new investment program since the 529 expansion.

That alone makes it a political prize.

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