Trump Administration Signals Crypto Shift at White House Summit
Washington, D.C. – The White House hosted its first-ever crypto summit on Friday, signaling a definitive end to the previous administration’s ‘war on crypto,’ according to President Trump and his cabinet. The event brought together industry leaders, lawmakers who support crypto, and administration officials in a move that could signal mainstream acceptance of digital assets.
President Trump speaks as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, left, and White House artificial intelligence and crypto czar David Sacks, right, listen at the White House Crypto Summit in Washington, March 7, 2025.
“My administration is working to end the federal bureaucracy war on crypto, which was really going on pretty wildly during Biden,” Trump stated during the summit. He pointed to the previous administration’s regulatory actions, claiming that they “strong-armed banks into closing the accounts of crypto businesses and entrepreneurs, effectively blocking some money transfers to and from exchanges, and they weaponized government against the entire industry.”
Crypto executives have argued that the Biden administration was hostile toward the digital asset space, instead focusing on investigations into cryptocurrency exchanges and firms. Since Trump took office, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has closed several of these investigations, including those involving Coinbase and Ripple, which were both represented at the summit. The SEC is also changing the direction of crypto regulation by creating a special task force.
David Sacks, the White House’s artificial intelligence and crypto czar, called out the co-founders of cryptocurrency Gemini, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. They had said a year ago that they were more likely to end up in jail than at the White House. Reflecting on the regulatory environment, Cameron Winklevoss said, “It’s truly wonderful to see how things have changed and how the pendulum has swung back in the way it has.”
Trump highlighted an executive order, signed a day earlier, that establishes a bitcoin reserve and a separate digital assets stockpile. He described it as a “virtual Fort Knox,” reflecting the nation’s gold reserves. The reserve will be established using bitcoin already seized by law enforcement during financial crime investigations, and the digital assets stockpile will do the same with other, newer digital assets like Ripple, Solana, or Cardano already in the government’s possession. Both Trump and Sacks emphasized that this would not come at the expense of taxpayers.
The Treasury and Commerce Departments have also been directed to explore new avenues for accumulating bitcoin holdings without taxpayer expense, along with a comprehensive audit of the government’s digital asset holdings. The estimated 200,000 bitcoin allocated to the reserve will be held as part of a “long term strategy to maximize the value.”
In a move that reversed past administration policies, Trump told the roundtable that “From this day on, America will follow the rule that every Bitcoin knows very well, never sell your Bitcoin.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that these initiatives will position the U.S. as a leader in digital asset strategy. He said that the administration is undoing many of the previous administration’s crypto policies. “The Biden administration’s actions did nothing other than punish innovators,” he stated. The Treasury Department will collaborate with the Comptroller of the Currency and the IRS to update all guidelines and focus on stablecoin regulation. “We are going to keep the U.S. the dominant reserve currency in the world, and we will use stablecoins to do that,” Bessent added.
Trump also outlined a timeline for digital asset legislation, expecting to see measures on his desk before the August recess. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) were present at the roundtable. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who introduced a measure last session to create a strategic bitcoin reserve, was unable to attend due to illness but has hinted at a crypto-related announcement next week.
