(AFP) – Donald Trump on Friday hosts top cryptocurrency players at the White House, a political boost for an industry that has struggled to gain legitimacy — and where the Republican president faces conflict of interest concerns. US crypto investors were major supporters of Trump’s presidential campaign, contributing millions of dollars toward his victory in hopes of ending the Joe Biden administration’s deep skepticism toward digital currencies.
“We will have our conversation about rolling back Biden’s war on crypto regulations,” a senior White House official told reporters ahead of the meeting. It is an opportunity for the president “to hear directly from the industry, and for us to take in feedback from the industry,” the official added. Trump now has significant financial ties to the sector, partnering with exchange platform World Liberty Financial and launching the “Trump” memecoin in January. First Lady Melania Trump announced a meme coin of her own, $MELANIA, one day before the inauguration.
The president’s “crypto czar,” Silicon Valley investor David Sacks, has invited prominent founders, CEOs, and investors along with members of a Trump working group to craft policies aimed at accelerating crypto growth and providing legitimacy that the industry has long sought. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order establishing a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” a move Sacks said made good on a campaign promise to an increasingly important component of his coalition. Summit guests include twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of crypto platform Gemini, as well as Brian Armstrong of Coinbase and Michael Saylor, the boss of major Bitcoin investor MicroStrategy.
In an X post, Sacks said the event would take place as a roundtable, and despite industry interest, the White House would have to “keep it small.” For believers, cryptocurrencies represent a financial revolution that reduces dependence on centralized authorities while offering individuals an alternative to traditional banking systems. Bitcoin, the world’s most traded cryptocurrency, is heralded by advocates as a substitute for gold or a hedge against currency devaluation and political instability.
Critics, meanwhile, maintain that these assets function primarily as speculative investments with questionable real-world utility that could leave taxpayers on the hook for cleaning up if the market crashes. The proliferation of “memecoins” — cryptocurrencies based on celebrities, internet memes, or pop culture items rather than technical utility — presents another challenge. Much of the crypto industry frowns upon these tokens, fearing they tarnish the sector’s credibility, amid reports of quick pump-and-dump schemes that leave unwitting buyers paying for assets that end up worthless.
Once hostile to the crypto industry, Trump has already taken significant steps to clear regulatory hurdles. Under Thursday’s executive order, the bitcoin stockpile will be composed of digital currency seized in US criminal proceedings. The use of these assets “means it will not cost taxpayers a dime,” Sacks said Thursday on X. Sacks said that if previous administrations had held onto their digital holdings over the past decade, they would be worth $17 billion today.
Trump has appointed crypto advocate Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. Under Atkins, the SEC has dropped legal proceedings against major platforms like Coinbase and Kraken that were initiated during Biden’s term. The previous administration had implemented restrictions on banks holding cryptocurrencies — which have since been lifted — and allowed former SEC chairman Gary Gensler to pursue aggressive enforcement. However, meaningful change will likely require congressional action, where crypto legislation has remained stalled despite intense lobbying efforts led by investors.
– Alex PIGMAN
© 2024 AFP
