Regulations and the strategic bitcoin reserve will likely be at the top of the agenda.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump will host the first White House Crypto Summit on March 7 as part of his effort to make the United States “the crypto capital of the world.” The summit is expected to cover topics including strategic crypto reserves, regulatory frameworks, and other key issues.
The summit will feature a roundtable meeting with crypto executives, administration officials, and members of the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets. There will also be a more extensive, invite-only reception for those not invited to the roundtable discussions.
Behind the scenes, the long-awaited event will be chaired by White House artificial intelligence and crypto czar David Sacks and administered by the Presidential Working Group’s executive director Bo Hines.
Many of the who’s who of the cryptocurrency industry will be in attendance, including MicroStrategy executive Michael Saylor, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Robinhood head Vladimir Tenev.
“We appreciate all of the interest but need to keep it small to have a meaningful conversation,” Sacks said on social media platform X.
During the 2024 election campaign, Trump fully embraced bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency industry, advocating for pro-crypto policies. Shortly after returning to the White House, he signed an executive order to promote U.S. leadership in digital assets and financial technology.
The summit is expected to be a noteworthy event for the industry, potentially driving future policies that could impact global financial markets and improve the regulatory landscape.
“It’s kind of a momentous occasion that crypto as an industry is being invited to the White House,” Jennifer Schulp, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute, told The Epoch Times. “The Biden administration had a very hostile posture towards crypto.”
Whether the festivities will trigger significant price action for bitcoin and other digital assets remains to be seen. Crypto markets suffered a $800 billion rout in February, with analysts noting that the industry had become too ebullient regarding how quickly the new administration could deliver on its pro-crypto campaign promises.
Trump has vowed to create a cryptocurrency reserve, deliver regulatory relief for the industry, and foster innovation in a business-friendly environment aiming to make America more competitive in this space.
Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
As part of his campaign promise, Trump recently revealed plans to create a crypto reserve, a national stockpile similar to the U.S. gold reserves, that could be tapped for future use.
In line with this, he signed an executive order on March 6, just before the summit, to establish a “strategic bitcoin reserve.”
“Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin protocol permanently caps the total supply of bitcoin (BTC) at 21 million coins, and has never been hacked. As a result of its scarcity and security, Bitcoin is often referred to as ‘digital gold,’” the executive order stated. “Because there is a fixed supply of BTC, there is a strategic advantage to being among the first nations to create a strategic bitcoin reserve.”
By Andrew Moran and Emel Akan