WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump convened a summit at the White House on Friday, inviting prominent figures from the cryptocurrency industry to discuss his vision for a government-held reserve of digital assets. The meeting, the first of its kind, centered on Trump’s plans to capitalize this reserve with forfeited bitcoin and potentially involve other cryptocurrencies.
The summit was attended by key industry players, including MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, Coinbase co-founder Brian Armstrong, investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and Zach Witkoff, a founder of Trump’s crypto business, World Liberty Financial. This move signals Trump’s effort to support and integrate cryptocurrency into the financial landscape.
Trump’s plan, formalized in an executive order the previous day, aims to create a strategic reserve, starting with bitcoin acquired through asset forfeiture. “We don’t want any cost to the taxpayers,” Trump stated at the summit, emphasizing the budget-neutral approach. The order tasks the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to develop strategies that don’t require taxpayer funds for acquiring cryptocurrency, and also specifies that current holdings will not be sold.
David Sacks, the White House’s crypto czar, expressed the view that establishing a bitcoin reserve was long overdue, and that existing safeguards protect consumers from crypto investments.
However, some in the market expressed disappointment, hoping for a plan that included purchasing new tokens. JP Richardson, co-founder of Exodus, cautioned that including other coins in the reserve might be premature due to their relative immaturity and varying levels of risk.
Attendees at the summit expressed optimism about collaborating with an administration that views cryptocurrency as a mainstream asset. They also sought clarity on the regulatory environment and the potential scrutiny level for the industry. As Yesha Yadav, a professor of law at Vanderbilt University, said regulatory clarity “could speed up the process.” Trump’s family has launched cryptocurrency meme coins and he also holds a stake in World Liberty Financial which has raised some ethical concerns. His staff have said that he has handed over control of his business ventures, which are being reviewed by ethics lawyers. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the US plans to maintain the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, employing stablecoins to facilitate this aim. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, welcomed Trump’s recognition of cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin.”, “SummaryCompaniesTrump wants government to hold on to seized crypto assetsTrump: “We don’t want any cost to the taxpayers”Industry leaders seek clarity on crypto regulation and scrutinyConcerns over Trump’s crypto interests and conflict of interest
