USA as a "Bitcoin superpower"? Trump invites to crypto summit
US President Donald Trump has hosted a digital currency summit at the White House. In doing so, he underlined the crypto-friendly course of his administration.
08.03.2025, 00:49
08.03.2025, 07:15
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- Trump opened a crypto summit at the White House and reaffirmed his promise to make America a Bitcoin superpower.
- He had previously ordered the creation of a national US reserve for digital currencies, in which Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are to be stored.
- Critics see a potentially problematic alliance between the presidency and the economic interests of the Trump family.
"Last year, I promised to make America the Bitcoin superpower of the world and the crypto capital of the planet," Trump declared in his inaugural address. "We are taking historic action to deliver on that promise."
In addition to US Digital Currency Commissioner David Sacks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and others, several industry representatives were also in attendance. The participants praised Trump's initiative at length. Sacks joked that one participant had told him before the start of the summit that a year ago he had thought it "more likely that he would end up in prison than in the White House".
Problematic closing of ranks?
The joke illustrates just how much the political climate for the industry has changed under Trump. His Democratic predecessor Joe Biden backed restrictive regulation of digital currencies and warned of money laundering and potential risks for the financial markets. Trump, on the other hand, was already open to digital currencies during the election campaign - and received considerable support from the industry. After his election victory, the price of Bitcoin, among other things, rose sharply.
However, critics see a potentially problematic alliance between the presidency and the economic interests of the Trump family. Shortly before taking office, the Republican had a so-called "meme coin" with his likeness called "$TRUMP" issued - a digital commemorative coin that can be traded. In connection with this, the industry connections of the Trump Organization, which is run by the president's sons, are causing discussion.
Trump ordered a reserve
The day before the summit, Trump had already implemented one of his campaign promises and ordered the creation of a national US reserve for digital currencies. This strategic reserve is to store units of the best-known cryptocurrency Bitcoin that are already in the possession of the US government - for example through seizures as part of criminal prosecutions.
According to Sacks, the Department of Commerce and Treasury will be allowed to acquire more Bitcoin for the reserve in future - but without any financial burden for taxpayers. Other currencies such as Ethereum and Solana are also to be kept in a separate stock. However, the government will not take any active measures to systematically expand these holdings.
The US government already holds tens of thousands of Bitcoin as a result of government measures against criminal networks. Sacks put the current holdings at around 200,000 units. At a Bitcoin exchange rate of around 88,000 dollars, this corresponds to a total value of over 17 billion dollars.
