Leaders from the cryptocurrency sector gathered with Donald Trump at the White House on Friday to talk about how the administration plans to realize Trump’s vision of positioning the nation as the “crypto capital of the world.” During the round-table discussion, which included over a dozen participants, the president expressed gratitude to each of his guests.
“High-IQ individuals around this table, high-IQ,” Trump remarked. “We feel like pioneers.”
Attendees included prominent figures such as crypto innovators Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss; Michael Saylor, co-founder and executive chair of MicroStrategy; and Zach Witkoff, a founder of Trump’s own crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. The CEO of Robinhood Markets, Vlad Tenev, was also present.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order establishing a strategic reserve of cryptocurrency for the United States. During the summit, he stated that this reserve will serve as a “digital Fort Knox for digital gold to be stored.”
David Sacks, a tech investor designated by Trump as his “crypto czar,” expressed appreciation for the president’s leadership within the digital asset realm, commenting: “Your administration is moving at tech speed.”
“This was an industry that was subjected to persecution,” Sacks noted. “And no one understands that better than you do.”
Following the introductions, the participants commenced their off-camera discussions. The meeting is anticipated to center on Trump’s initiative to construct the strategic reserve, which the president mentioned will encompass bitcoin and four additional cryptocurrencies. Trump instructed the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to formulate “budget-neutral strategies” for acquiring extra bitcoin that incur no “incremental costs” for taxpayers.
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Les Borsai, co-founder of Wave Digital Assets, a crypto investment advisory firm, who noted he did not receive an invite, said, “For the first time, industry leaders feel they’re walking into a collaborative discussion.”
Participants expressed a keen interest in learning more details regarding the strategic reserve, a government stockpile of crypto assets. According to Sacks, the reserve will be funded with bitcoin seized by the federal government through criminal or civil asset forfeiture.
“This [strategic reserve] is going to be the biggest point of contention for many of us,” JP Richardson, co-founder and CEO of Exodus, a bitcoin wallet developer stated. Despite owning the other four cryptocurrencies Trump suggested for inclusion in the reserve, he believes they should not be part of it.
“Crypto has made significant progress, yet it remains a relatively young industry,” Richardson commented. He noted that the other cryptocurrencies operate differently and may introduce more risk. Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, shared his opinion on X Sunday, suggesting that a bitcoin-only reserve would be “probably … the best option.” Both Richardson and Armstrong were present at the summit.
In a post on X, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple and an attendee at the summit, praised Trump for acknowledging that “we live in a multichain world” beyond just bitcoin. XRP, associated with Ripple, is among the four other cryptocurrencies Trump proposed for the reserve. Participants expressed optimism about collaborating with an administration that recognizes crypto as a mainstream asset and voiced their hopes for a clear regulatory environment.
“What everyone really needs right now is clarity on the level of scrutiny and the intensity of regulation, as well as who the primary regulators will be,” stated Yesha Yadav, associate dean and law professor at Vanderbilt University. This clarity could expedite the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of numerous new exchange-traded fund listings.
Trump’s family has also engaged in launching cryptocurrency meme coins, and he holds a stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform, which has raised some conflict-of-interest concerns. According to aides, Trump has relinquished control of his business ventures, which are currently undergoing review by external ethics lawyers. The White House did not respond to a request for comments.
