Crypto Industry Leader Attends Trump Summit, Strategic Reserves Become The Main Focus

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, held a historic meeting with crypto industry leaders (photo: x @potus)

JAKARTA The President of the United States, Donald Trump, held a historic meeting with crypto industry leaders at the White House on Friday 7 March. The summit focuses on the government's plan to build strategic reserves of digital assets, especially Bitcoin, which was previously formalized in an executive order Trump signed the day before.

Trump welcomes various crypto industry figures, including MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, twin investor Cameron and Tyler Wolvoss, and entrepreneur David Bailey. Also present were Zach Witkoff, co-founder of Trump's own crypto business, World Liberty Financial.

During the meeting, Trump confirmed that the government wanted to store crypto assets that had been confiscated, particularly Bitcoin, without burdening taxes on the public.

"We don't want any fees for taxpayers," Trump said.

David Sacks, White House's crypto policy adviser, explained that Bitcoin's strategic reserves will be financed with digital assets obtained by the government through the confiscation process in criminal and civil cases.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also confirmed that this strategy will not use tax funds to buy new digital assets. However, this decision disappointed some market players who hoped the government would buy Bitcoin actively. This announcement also had an impact on the price of Bitcoin, which fell 3.4% to 86,394 US dollars.

While Bitcoin received special treatment in this policy, Trump also stated that the government would have other digital asset reserves. However, this move has sparked debate.

JP Richardson, CEO of Exodus, expressed concern about plans to include assets other than Bitcoin into strategic reserves.

"Crypto has grown rapidly, but it is still a relatively new industry. Some other digital assets may be more at risk than Bitcoin," he said.

One of the assets considered for entry into this reserve is XRP, which is linked to Ripple. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse welcomed Trump's decision to admit that the crypto world is not limited to Bitcoin.

Many industry leaders consider that the Trump administration is now more open to the crypto industry than previous governments that are often considered to limit innovation.

"For the first time, industry leaders feel they are in a collaborative discussion," said Les Borsai, co-founder of Wave Digital Assets.

Trump himself shows his optimism for the future of the crypto industry in the United States.

"Starting today, America will follow the rules well-known to the Bitcoin community: Never sell your Bitcoins," Trump said.

However, this policy also raises concerns over potential conflicts of interest. Trump and his family are known to have been involved in the crypto business, including the launch of a coin meme and ownership at World Liberty Financial. However, the White House has not yet responded to this.

In the future, industry players hope that there will be clearer regulations regarding digital assets and certainty regarding the authorities that will oversee this sector.