President Donald Trump declared on Friday that he is dedicated to making the United States a global leader in cryptocurrencies, while business leaders praised him for reversing the previous administration’s alleged unjust attacks on digital assets.
“I felt it was crucial that we remain ahead of this one,” Trump stated during the inaugural White House “Crypto Summit.”
Trump, a once-skeptic about cryptocurrency, has embraced a sector that has lavished him with affection in return and contributed significantly to his election victory last year.
“The pendulum has swung back, and it’s really amazing to see how things have changed,” Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, told Trump.
During the event, politicians, cabinet officials, and CEOs from cryptocurrency companies took turns praising Trump’s leadership on digital assets.
The invigorated sector contended it helped Trump and other Republicans win the last election and was treated unfairly by the Biden administration.
Trump reaffirmed his desire to support the cryptocurrency sector with legislation that is benevolent and has minimal restrictions.
The incoming Trump administration has made a number of steps to try to support the cryptocurrency business, and Friday’s gathering was the most recent.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has notably dropped a number of enforcement actions against major cryptocurrency companies, including those whose executives attended Friday’s event.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday creating a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” effectively prohibiting the U.S. government from selling bitcoin, which is presently worth roughly $17 billion that it has obtained through civil and criminal asset forfeiture.
Additionally, the directive permits the Treasury and Commerce Departments to develop “budget-neutral” plans for the government to purchase more bitcoin, though no specifics of those plans have been made public.
The order significantly increases the validity and credibility of bitcoin.
In less than twenty years, bitcoin, the oldest and most well-known cryptocurrency, has grown from an experiment by libertarian cryptography enthusiasts to an asset valued at $1.7 trillion.
David Sacks, the “crypto czar” for the Trump administration, told reporters Friday that Bitcoin is unique.
Additionally, the government will store seized cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin in a “Digital Asset Stockpile” established by Trump’s directive.
Trump’s unexpected declaration on Sunday that he wanted the government to hold lesser-known cryptocurrencies XRP, Solana, and Cardano caused a brief spike in cryptocurrency prices.
Why Trump mentioned those particular cryptocurrencies but not others is unknown.
His declaration sparked debate among cryptocurrency enthusiasts regarding whether the government will choose winners and losers among different cryptocurrency categories.
According to Yesha Yadav, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, the executive order’s wording makes it obvious that the Trump administration did not want to be drawn into that kind of controversy.
“The Trump E.O. from yesterday has been fairly neutral, which is not surprising,” she stated.
Trump has backed a personal meme coin and other cryptocurrency endeavors in an effort to benefit himself and his family.
Democratic lawmakers and even some Trump-supporting cryptocurrency aficionados have swiftly criticized those actions.
Trump’s private cryptocurrency endeavors are “irrelevant” to the administration’s industry-related efforts, Sacks told reporters Friday.
According to Sacks, the goal of that endeavor was to make the United States the global center of cryptocurrency through just and transparent laws that safeguard investors while encouraging innovation.
Sacks clarified that he wasn’t there to try to persuade Americans to purchase cryptocurrency.
“This is a very volatile industry, so you should do your homework,” Sacks advised. “It isn’t suitable for everyone.”
