In another controversial move that further merges the country with Trump’s business interests, the White House is set to host the first-ever Crypto Summit.
Donald Trump will headline the event next Friday, which will feature “prominent founders, CEOs, and investors from the crypto industry, as well as members of the president’s Working Group on Digital Assets,” according to the White House. The summit will be led by venture capitalist and White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks, with Bo Hines overseeing the executive direction.
The event comes after Trump signed an executive order in January to establish the working group, comprising officials from key federal agencies like the Treasury, Justice, Commerce, and Homeland Security departments, along with the SEC and CFTC, who will advise on digital asset policy. On Sunday, he announced the creation of the official crypto reserve. This move signals a clear shift from the Biden administration’s approach, which has been focused on tough regulation.
In contrast to Biden’s strict stance on cryptocurrency, particularly in its use for illicit activities, Trump’s administration has focused on fostering growth in the digital currency sector. In 2021, former President Joe Biden announced the White House’s plan to evaluate the use of crypto in connection with ransomware payments to cybercriminals. The Biden administration aimed to build an international coalition to hold countries harboring ransomware actors accountable and expand cryptocurrency analysis to track criminal transactions.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump promised to streamline crypto regulations, support stablecoins, and create a Bitcoin stockpile. While he has yet to fulfill all these commitments, his administration’s policies and the upcoming summit signal a dramatic departure from Biden’s tough regulatory crackdown. Notably, Trump, who once referred to cryptocurrency as a “scam,” introduced a memecoin just before returning to office in January, illustrating his own conflicting stance on the digital asset landscape.
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