Key Takeaways:
- U.S. President Donald Trump met with 30 crypto exectives at the first-ever White House Crypto Summit on March 7 where he made statements about the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
- The President was joined by Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, among others.
- Trump highlighted that the under his executive order, the U.S. government will hold on to the BTC from civil and criminal forfeitures and “never sell” them. He has also directed the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to create a “budget-neutral” strategy to acquire more BTC without any incremental cost on taxpayers.
- The Office of the Currency Comptroller (OCC) has rescinded a letter from the Biden administration that blocked U.S. banks from engaging in crypto-related activities. The new directive allows national banks to custody customers’ crypto assets, become validators for decentralized ledgers, and hold USD-pegged stablecoin reserves.
President Donald Trump met with crypto industry leaders at the White House on Friday for the first-ever crypto summit, during which he discussed his administration’s plans for a U.S. government-owned stockpile of digital assets.
Michael Saylor And Brad Garlinghouse Attend President Trump’s White House Crypto Summit To Discuss Crypto Reserve Strategy
The summit hosted by the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets, led by Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks, was attended by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick alongside approximately 30 leading industry players, including Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) executive chairman Michael Saylor, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Gemini co-founders the Winklesvoss twins, and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
Trump began his statement by declaring that America will follow the golden rule of Bitcoiners – “never sell your Bitcoin”. Regarding the strategic Bitcoin reserve, the President said that the U.S. plans to hold on to the BTC it has in its possession, a majority of which were seized from the Bitfinex exchange hacker and darkweb marketplace Silk Road.
He said it was unfortunate that in recent years, predominantly under the previous Biden administration, the federal government “foolishly” sold tens of thousands of Bitcoins that would have been worth billions of dollars if held on. Over the past decade, the U.S. sold approximately 200,000 BTC for $377 million, costing taxpayers an estimated $18 billion in losses.
According to Arkham Intelligence data, the U.S. government holds around 198,109 BTC, with the value of these holdings estimated to be around $17.5 billion to $18 billion, depending on the current market price of the flagship cryptocurrency.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Says U.S. Dollar Dominance Will Be Enhanced Using Stablecoins
A major focus of the summit was the Trump administration’s goal to create a strategic reserve containing Bitcoin, which was made official by an executive order the President signed on Thursday that mentioned there would also be a stockpile of other digital assets in the government’s possession.
The EO directed the Treasury and Commerce Secretaries to draw up a plan to acquire more Bitcoin in a “budget-neutral” manner that will have no “incremental costs” on taxpayers. It also mandated a full audit of digital asset holdings under the various government departments.
“We don’t want any cost to the taxpayers,” Trump said at the summit.
Crypto Czar David Sacks noted in a March 7 X post that the proposed reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin already owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of civil or criminal proceedings. He also asserted that taxpayer funds would not be used to acquire any digital assets and protections will be in place to safeguard consumers from crypto investments.
Secretary Bessent said that President Trump is creating assets for the American people while most past presidents have created debt. He also highlighted that the government was going to maintain the dollar as the world’s dominant reserve currency and will use the stablecoins to do that.
Last Sunday, Trump announced that his administration will set up a Crypto Asset Reserve containing Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). The Truth Social post triggered a mini rally in the market, but divided opinions within the community. Many Bitcoin maximalists argued that BTC was the only cryptocurrency worthy of being a reserve asset, referring to the other digital assets as “shitcoins” and worthless.
Crypto Leaders Praise Trump For Recognizing The Industry’s Potential
However, Trump’s executive order separating the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve from the Digital Asset Stockpile has brought more clarity as to how the government views the market. Friday’s summit is a welcome boost for an industry that has in the past faced persecution, with many executives present at the roundtable conference subject to lawsuits from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Crypto officials invited to the summit heaped praise on Trump and his team for clearing the path for the industry’s wider recognition and growth. Les Borsai, co-founder of crypto investment advisor Wave Digital Assets, said that for the first time, industry leaders felt they are “walking into a collaborative discussion”. Other experts said it was a positive feeling that the government is collaborating with industry after years og being attacked over security and consumer protection issues.
OCC Allows U.S. National Banks To Engage In Crypto Custody, Blockchain Validator, And Stablecoin Activities
Meanwhile, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said in a Friday statement that U.S. national banks are now allowed to indulge in some crypto-related activities, such as custodying customers’ crypto assets, becoming validators for public blockchains, and holding stablecoins denominated by the U.S. dollar.
Rodney Hood, the acting head of the OCC, said that the new guidance makes it clear that banks must put in place risk management strategies before engaging in crypto activities. He also stated that the action will reduce the burden on banks to engage in crypto-related services and ensure these activities are treated consistently by the OCC, “regardless of the underlying technology”.
The OCC also rescinded guidance for banks issued by President Biden that set additional guardrails for engaging in certain crypto activities. Thoe letters advised banks to brief their supervisors on crypto activities beforehand, show how they would handle the associated risks, and ensure that the supervisor had no objection.
The Trump administration’s move to support the crypto industry and the larger plan to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile is bullish for investors. With the OCC now allowing US banks to provide crypto-related services to customers, it is further strengthening the sector’s legitimacy while increasing global adoption
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $86,460 – down 1.8% in the last 24 hours.
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