- The market concluded a challenging week without recovery following the White House meeting.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned that a Bitcoin reserve would enhance the US balance sheet.
Major cryptocurrencies declined after President Donald Trump delivered pre-prepared comments at the White House’s eagerly awaited crypto summit on Friday.
Bitcoin experienced a drop of over 2% as Trump spoke to an assembly of around 30 entrepreneurs, legislators, and government officials, including Michael Saylor, chairman of Strategy, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Ether, Solana, and XRP witnessed declines of more than 2%, 3%, and 4%, respectively.
On Thursday, Trump enacted an executive order aimed at transforming $17 billion in Bitcoin assets into a “strategic reserve” while banning government agencies from liquidating that Bitcoin.
Never sell
“Regrettably, in recent years, the US government has misguidedly sold tens of thousands of Bitcoin that could have been valued in billions had they retained them,” Trump remarked.
“From this moment forward, America will adhere to a principle every Bitcoin enthusiast understands: never sell your Bitcoin. That’s a saying among them. I’m not sure if that holds true or not.”
Bessent stated that Trump’s executive action would position the US as “a frontrunner among countries in the digital asset arena.”
“We leverage this authority to bolster the asset side of the United States balance sheet,” Bessent mentioned.
Trump and other officials reiterated a commitment to discontinue “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” an alleged initiative by President Joe Biden’s administration aimed at pushing the crypto industry overseas by restricting its access to banking services.
In line with this, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a letter on Friday clarifying that crypto-asset custody, specific stablecoin activities, and involvement in independent node verification networks like distributed ledgers are allowed for national banks and federal savings associations.
However, investors seemed to be anticipating more substantial outcomes from the White House’s inaugural crypto summit.
Aleks Gilbert is the DeFi correspondent for DL News, based in New York. You can get in touch with him at [email protected].
