Trump tells crypto leaders at White House summit he's committed to
helping their industry
[March 08, 2025] By
ALAN SUDERMAN
President Donald Trump said Friday he’s committed to making the U.S. a
world leader in cryptocurrencies as industry leaders heaped praise on
him for reversing what they said had been unfair attacks on digital
assets by the previous administration.
“I thought it was very important that we stay in the front of this one,”
Trump said at the first-ever White House “Crypto Summit.”
A former crypto-skeptic, Trump has warmly embraced an industry that’s
shown him significant love in return and spent heavily to help him win
last year’s election.
“It’s truly wonderful to see how things have changed and how the
pendulum has swung back,” 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’s leadership on
digital assets. The emboldened industry 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’s summit was the latest in a series of actions the new Trump
administration has taken to try and boost the crypto industry. Notably,
that’s included the Securities and Exchange Commission dropping several
enforcement actions against large crypto companies, including those
whose leaders were at Friday’s summit.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order establishing a “Strategic
Bitcoin Reserve,” which essentially bars the U.S. government from
selling bitcoin – currently valued at about $17 billion – it has
acquired through criminal and civil asset forfeiture.
The order also allows the Treasury and Commerce Departments to come up
with “budget-neutral” 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’s 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.
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Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, from left, Treasury Secretary
Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump, White House AI and crypto
czar David Sacks and Bo Hines, a member of the presidential council
of advisers for digital assets, attend the White House Crypto Summit
in Washington, Friday, March 7, 2025. (Pool via AP)
 “Bitcoin is special,” said David
Sacks, the Trump administration’s “crypto czar,” told reporters
Friday.
Trump’s order also creates a “Digital Asset Stockpile,” where the
government will hold seized cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. On
Sunday, Trump sent crypto prices on a short-lived surge after a
surprise announcement that he wanted the government to hold
lesser-known cryptocurrencies XRP, solana and cardano.
It’s 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’s clear
the Trump administration wanted to avoid getting dragged into that
kind of fight with the way the executive order was worded.
“It’s unsurprising that the Trump E.O. from yesterday has been quite
neutral,” she said.
Trump’s foray into crypto has included backing a personal meme coin
and other ventures to enrich himself and his family. Those moves
have drawn swift criticism from Democrats and even some crypto
enthusiasts who support Trump.
Sacks told reporters Friday that Trump’s personal crypto-related
projects were “irrelevant” to the administration’s 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.
“You should do your homework because this is a very volatile
industry,” Sacks said. “It’s not for everyone.”
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