At Crypto Summit, Trump Says U.S. Will Be ‘the Bitcoin Superpower’

Seated beneath a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, over two dozen of the most influential figures in the U.S. cryptocurrency industry—collectively worth billions—gathered at the White House on Friday for a meeting with President Trump.

As Mr. Trump entered the grand State Dining Room after a brief delay, the executives rose to applaud.

“Many of you have been fighting for this for years,” Mr. Trump remarked as the applause subsided. “It’s an honor to have you here at the White House.”

The event, a first-of-its-kind “crypto summit,” brought together leaders from nearly every major crypto company in the United States for direct discussions with the president. Though only a small segment of the four-hour meeting was broadcast to the public, it highlighted Mr. Trump’s recent shift toward embracing the crypto industry—one that has long struggled against U.S. regulators.

Several executives, including Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of the Gemini crypto exchange, expressed their gratitude, praising Mr. Trump as “wonderful” and saying they were “thrilled” by his stance.

“Some very high-IQ individuals around this table,” Mr. Trump responded.

Since taking office, Mr. Trump has led a complete reversal of federal policy on cryptocurrency. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which previously pursued an aggressive crackdown on the industry under the Biden administration, has swiftly changed course—offering legal guidance to crypto firms, dropping lawsuits against major exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken, and halting investigations into key industry players.

Executives from both Coinbase and Kraken were present at Friday’s gathering. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, sat just two seats away from the president.

“This marks a turning point—crypto is finally being recognized as a legitimate industry,” said JP Richardson, CEO of Exodus, who traveled to Washington to attend the summit. “We believe this technology has the potential to reshape the world, and seeing the administration take it seriously is crucial.”

The meeting also underscored Mr. Trump’s personal financial ties to crypto, a situation that ethics experts have criticized as a conflict of interest. Among the attendees was Zach Witkoff, son of Steve Witkoff, a close associate of Mr. Trump and the administration’s special envoy to the Middle East. Zach Witkoff is a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, a crypto business that Mr. Trump heavily promoted last year and from which he and his family profit directly.

Though he was once skeptical of cryptocurrency, Mr. Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign last year, coinciding with crypto firms pouring millions into supporting him and congressional candidates aligned with the industry.

Eventually, Mr. Trump became directly involved in the market. Last fall, he and his sons partnered with the Witkoffs to launch World Liberty Financial, presenting it as a crypto-based lending and borrowing platform. The company introduced its own digital currency, WLFI, with the Trump family earning a share of its sales.

Just before his inauguration, Mr. Trump also ventured into memecoins—a type of cryptocurrency linked to internet jokes or celebrity figures. His coin, $Trump, initially soared before crashing, ultimately leading to a combined $2 billion in investor losses.

Since winning the election, Mr. Trump has actively promoted the crypto industry, appointing pro-crypto officials to key positions and advocating for a new regulatory framework.

On Thursday night, he signed an executive order establishing a national Bitcoin reserve, a proposal crypto executives framed as a strategy to reduce national debt.

Critics, however, have dismissed the plan as a scheme to benefit a small circle of crypto investors. Even some of Mr. Trump’s allies in the tech sector have raised concerns.

After Mr. Trump hinted at the reserve plan on social media last weekend, tech investor Joe Lonsdale posted on X, arguing that the government should avoid wasting resources on “crypto bro schemes.”

No such criticism surfaced at the summit. The atmosphere remained friendly, according to Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, who attended the event. Executives took turns sharing their perspectives on crypto policy, though there was little debate.

“This wasn’t a meeting where major decisions were made or disclosed,” Nazarov explained. “It was more of a collaborative brainstorming session.”

During the public portion of the summit, Mr. Trump sat between David Sacks, the White House’s crypto policy chief, and Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary. He framed the event as a pivotal moment in the government’s approach to cryptocurrency.

“I vowed to make America the world’s leading Bitcoin superpower and the global hub for crypto,” Mr. Trump declared. “Today, we are taking historic steps to fulfill that promise.”

He described the newly created national Bitcoin reserve as a “virtual Fort Knox” for digital assets.

“Never sell your Bitcoin,” Mr. Trump advised.

David Sacks followed with praise for Mr. Trump’s leadership, noting that the administration was “moving at tech speed.” He accused the Biden administration of subjecting the industry to “prosecution and persecution.”

“Nobody understands that experience better than you, Mr. President,” Sacks added.

Then, turning to the Winklevoss twins seated nearby, he recalled their earlier remarks.

“You said something that really struck me,” Sacks told them. “A year ago, you thought you were more likely to end up in jail than sitting here in the White House.”