President Donald Trump said Friday he鈥檚 committed to making the U.S. as industry leaders heaped praise on him for reversing what they said had been unfair attacks on digital assets by the previous administration.
鈥淚 thought it was very important that we stay in the front of this one,鈥� Trump said at the first-ever White House 鈥淐rypto Summit.鈥�
A former crypto-skeptic, Trump has warmly embraced an industry that鈥檚 shown him significant love in return and to help him win last year鈥檚 election.
鈥淚t鈥檚 truly wonderful to see how things have changed and how the pendulum has swung back,鈥� Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of the crypto exchange Gemini, told Trump.
The summit included crypto company executives, cabinet officials and lawmakers, many of whom took turns raving about Trump鈥檚 leadership on digital assets. said it was unfairly treated by the Biden administration and helped Trump and other Republicans score wins in the last election.
Trump reiterated his eagerness to help the crypto industry with friendly legislation and light-touch regulations.
Friday鈥檚 summit was the latest in a series of actions the new Trump administration has taken to try and boost the crypto industry. Notably, that鈥檚 included the Securities and Exchange Commission dropping several against large crypto companies, including those whose leaders were at Friday鈥檚 summit.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order establishing a 鈥淪trategic Bitcoin Reserve,鈥� which essentially bars the U.S. government from selling bitcoin 鈥� currently valued at about $17 billion 鈥� it has acquired through criminal and civil asset forfeiture.
The order also allows the Treasury and Commerce Departments to come up with 鈥渂udget-neutral鈥� plans for the government to acquire additional bitcoin, though no details of what those plans might look like have been released.
The order is a significant boost for bitcoin鈥檚 credibility and legitimacy. The oldest and most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin has gone from an experiment by libertarian cryptography enthusiasts to an asset worth $1.7 trillion in less than two decades.
鈥淏itcoin is special,鈥� said David Sacks, the Trump administration鈥檚 鈥渃rypto czar,鈥� told reporters Friday.
Trump鈥檚 order also creates a 鈥淒igital Asset Stockpile,鈥� where the government will hold seized cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. On Sunday, Trump sent crypto prices on a after a surprise announcement that he wanted the government to hold lesser-known cryptocurrencies XRP, solana and cardano.
It鈥檚 unclear why Trump named those specific cryptocurrencies and not others. His announcement caused a stir in the crypto community about whether the government would pick winners and losers among various types of cryptocurrencies.
Yesha Yadav, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, said it鈥檚 clear the Trump administration wanted to avoid getting dragged into that kind of fight with the way the executive order was worded.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unsurprising that the Trump E.O. from yesterday has been quite neutral,鈥� she said.
Trump鈥檚 foray into crypto has included backing a personal meme coin and other ventures to . Those moves have drawn from Democrats and even some crypto enthusiasts who support Trump.
Sacks told reporters Friday that Trump鈥檚 personal crypto-related projects were 鈥渋rrelevant鈥� to the administration鈥檚 work related to the industry. That work, Sacks said, was focused on making the U.S. the world capital in crypto through fair and clear regulations that promote innovation while still protecting investors.
Sacks added his role was not to try and convince Americans to buy crypto.
鈥淵ou should do your homework because this is a very volatile industry,鈥� Sacks said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not for everyone.鈥�
Alan Suderman, The Associated Press
