Sitting under the portrait of Abraham Lincoln, worth billions of dollars worth more than the most powerful dozens of people in the US cryptocurrency industry, they gathered at the White House on Friday for an audience with President Trump.
Executives rose to praise him as Trump entered the glamorous state dining room after a short wait.
“A lot of you have fought this for years,” Trump said as the room was quieter. “It's an honor to be with you in the White House.”
Trump held his first “Crypto Summit” and met with leaders from virtually every top crypto company in the United States. Only a small portion of the meeting was scheduled to last for four hours, but it was broadcast to the public. But it provided a clear illustration of Trump's recent Crypto embrace, a rebellious industry that has fought against US regulators for years.
Several executives, including Gemini Crypto Exchart founders Tyler and Cameron Winclevos, offered thanks to Trump. They called him “great” and said he was “overjoyed” with his approach.
“A high IQ individual around this table,” Trump replied.
Since he took office, Trump has coordinated a complete transformation of federal policy on crypto. The Securities and Exchange Commission has almost completely overturned the Biden administration's aggressive campaign and cracked down on the industry. The agency, moving at an incredible speed, issued legal guidance to help crypto companies, ended its investigation into large companies, and dropped the lawsuit against two biggest exchanges, Coinbase and Kraken.
Leaders from both of these companies attended the White House event on Friday. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sat two seats away from the president.
“Industry shows that it is ultimately a serious industry,” said JP Richardson, who ran the crypto company's Exodus Book and flew to Washington to join Trump's summit. “We believe this technology can fundamentally change the world, and it's really important that this administration take it seriously.”
The conference reminded me of Trump's personal investment in crypto, which ethics experts described as a surprising conflict of interest. The guest list included Zach Witkoff, son of Steve Witkoff, the presidential officer's close friend who serves as a special envoy for the Middle Eastern administration. Young Witkoff is the founder of World Liberty Financial, a crypto business that Trump was heavily promoted last year, where he and his family benefit directly from it.
Once a crypto skeptic, Trump embraced digital currency on the campaign trail last year. The crypto company has spent tens of millions of dollars supporting him and the Congressional candidate who helped him and technology.
Soon, Trump entered the market himself. Last fall, he and his sons teamed up with Witkoffs to launch World Liberty Financial, advertised as a platform for borrowing and lending at Crypto. World Liberty has its own digital currency, WLFI, and the Trump family is receiving cuts in sales.
A few days before his inauguration, Trump also began selling so-called memocoin, a kind of cryptocurrency tied to internet jokes and celebrity mascots. The coin, known as $Trump, suddenly surged before crashing, costing investors a cumulative $2 billion.
Since winning the election, Trump has taken steps to boost industry outlook, calling on crypto advocates to top management posts and federal agencies to develop new approaches to regulation.
On Thursday night, he signed an executive order to create a national reserve for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Crypto executives have pitched the plan as a strategy to reduce national debt.
Skeptics attacked the proposal as a scheme to enrich a small number of crypto investors. Even some Trump's supporters in the tech world have joined the criticism.
After Trump mocked a backup announcement on social media last weekend, prominent tech investor Joe Lonsdale wrote to X that the government shouldn't waste money on “cryptobroschemes.”
None of those dissent was on display at the summit. The meeting was heartfelt, said Sergey Nazarov, founder of Crypto Company Chainlink, who attended the event. Executives shared opinions on crypto policy with little time for discussion or disagreement.
“This was not a meeting where things were decided or disclosed,” Nazarov said. “This was a more cooperative brainstorming type session.”
During the public portion of the summit, Trump was sitting between White House crypto policy emperor David Sachs and Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent. Trump welcomed the event as a turning point in the crypto industry's handling of the nation.
“I have committed to making America the world's Bitcoin superpower and the capital of the Earth's crypto,” he said. “We are taking historical action to fulfill that promise.”
He said the new National Bitcoin stockpile will create a virtual fort Knox for the state's holdings. “Never sell Bitcoin,” Trump said.
In his own remarks, Sachs praised Trump's leadership, saying the administration is “moving at the speed of technology.” The industry was the subject of “prosecution and persecution” under the Biden administration, he said.
“No one knows that it makes you feel better than you,” Sachs told the president.
He then turned to Wincrevos' twins and sat on the other side of the room.
“You said early what I thought was really deep,” Sachs told them. “A year ago, I thought you were more likely to go to prison than the White House.”
Albanian
Croatian
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Macedonian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish