As expected, the first White House Digital Assets Summit failed to deliver any surprises and turned into a performance show for Trump and his supporters in the crypto industry.

At 4:40 a.m. Beijing time on March 8, President Trump delivered a brief speech at the inaugural White House Digital Assets Summit. He stated, "Last year, I promised to make the United States the global Bitcoin superpower and the world's capital of cryptocurrency. We are taking historic actions to fulfill this commitment." He also suggested, "From today on, the United States will follow the rule that every Bitcoin holder knows well—never sell your Bitcoin."

Trump mentioned that on the eve of the summit, he signed an executive order to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve and a digital asset reserve. He also announced the termination of the Biden administration's "Operation Choke Point 2.0," which he claimed had been stifling the crypto industry.

Trump's Key Messages: "Never Sell Your Bitcoin," Establishing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, and Ending "Operation Choke Point 2.0"

Trump opened the summit by welcoming attendees, saying, "I know many of you have been fighting for this for years, and it is an honor to have you all here at the White House. Last year, I promised to make the United States the global Bitcoin superpower and the world's capital of cryptocurrency. We are taking historic actions to fulfill this commitment, as you all know."

Among the attendees were numerous crypto policy officials and corporate executives. Sitting next to Trump were David Sacks, the White House AI and Crypto Czar; Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary; Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary; Kelly Loeffler, the SBA Administrator; Hester Peirce, the SEC Commissioner; Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip; Caroline Pham, the Acting CFTC Chair; Bryan Steil, the Chair of the House Digital Assets Subcommittee; and Bo Hines, the White House Digital Assets Policy Advisor.

This was the first-ever White House Digital Assets Summit. In his speech, Trump said, "Yesterday, I signed an executive order formally creating our strategic Bitcoin reserve, which will serve as a digital 'Fort Knox' to hold digital gold, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Treasury." He emphasized that the federal government already holds a large amount of Bitcoin, approximately 200,000 units, acquired through various law enforcement actions.

Trump criticized past federal policies, especially those during President Biden's administration, pointing out that the government "foolishly sold tens of thousands of Bitcoins, which would be worth billions of dollars today if they had been held." He proposed a new guiding principle for the new administration, suggesting, "From today on, the United States will follow the rule that every Bitcoin holder knows well—never sell your Bitcoin."

Trump also instructed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to find cost-free ways to increase Bitcoin holdings. He assured attendees, "The Treasury and Commerce Departments will also explore new ways to accumulate more Bitcoin for the reserve, without imposing any costs on taxpayers."

On the issue of regulation, Trump emphasized the plan to end "Operation Choke Point 2.0" and criticized the Biden administration for pressuring banks to close accounts related to crypto businesses. He said, "Regulators forced banks to close accounts of crypto companies and entrepreneurs." He promised that under his leadership, this practice would be terminated.

Trump concluded by expressing his support for Congress's work on stablecoin and digital asset legislation and urged the passage of relevant regulatory laws before the August recess to provide clear guidance. The initial plan had been to submit legislation within the first 100 days of his term, but this timeline has now been extended by four months.

No New Policies Lead to Brief Market Decline; Attendees Offer Diplomatic Remarks

After Trump's speech, David Sacks, the White House AI and Crypto Czar; Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary; Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary; Kelly Loeffler, the SBA Administrator; and Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip, all touched on crypto policies but did not disclose any new developments. They expressed their gratitude to Trump.

Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, said, "The Treasury's important responsibilities in this executive order involve tax policy and risk-weighting assessments. I can assure everyone here that we will work closely with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to repeal and revise all inappropriate existing guidelines. Additionally, we will carefully develop a regulatory framework for stablecoins. As President Trump has directed, we will ensure that the U.S. dollar continues to serve as the global dominant reserve currency and use stablecoins to strengthen this position."

Cameron Winklevoss, the founder of Gemini, and Sergey Nazarov, the founder of Chainlink, also expressed their appreciation for the Trump administration's shift in crypto policy.

However, since Trump did not announce any more substantial progress on crypto policies, the price of Bitcoin continued to decline after the summit, falling below the $86,000 mark shortly after the live broadcast ended.

In addition to the attendees mentioned above, other participants included Michael Saylor, the founder of Strategy; Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase; Chris Dixon, a partner at a16z; Fred Thiel, the CEO of Mara; Mike Belshe, the CEO of BitGo; Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple; Vlad Tenev, the co-founder and CEO of Robinhood; Arjun Sethi, the CEO of Kraken; and Tyler Winklevoss, the co-founder of Gemini.

Prior to the summit, there were rumors that Trump would announce a capital gains tax exemption for crypto sales. However, senior White House officials later confirmed that the digital assets summit would not address tax issues but would focus on repealing the restrictive policies of the previous Biden administration and gathering industry feedback on regulation.

Before the White House Crypto Summit, David Sacks, the White House AI and Crypto Czar, told reporters that Bitcoin holds strategic significance for the United States due to its scarcity and long-term store-of-value potential. When discussing the strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital asset reserve, he noted that ADA, SOL, and XRP were mentioned because they are among the top five market cap assets, not because the government has any special preference or policy inclination toward these assets.

According to Fox journalist Eleanor Terrett, Michael Saylor, the founder of Strategy, submitted a document on digital assets to the President's Working Group and the SEC Crypto Task Force. This document became one of the topics discussed at the White House Crypto Summit. The cover of the document mainly focused on digital asset terminology, policy vision, and goals. The core objectives included:

• "Establishing a robust framework to drive the crypto renaissance."

• "Unleashing the potential of the crypto industry to promote global economic growth."

• "Becoming the world's banker through revitalizing capitalism and property rights."

The First White House Digital Assets Summit Concludes with No New Policies Released; Market Declines After Trump Reaffirms Previous Policies

In summary, although no significant policy progress was announced at the White House Digital Assets Summit, the market remains highly anticipative of Trump's future crypto policies. After this historic summit, whether the Trump administration's crypto policies can truly drive industry transformation will continue to be a focal point of the crypto market.

As expected, the first White House Digital Assets Summit failed to deliver any surprises and turned into a performance show for Trump and his supporters in the crypto industry.

At 4:40 a.m. Beijing time on March 8, President Trump delivered a brief speech at the inaugural White House Digital Assets Summit. He stated, "Last year, I promised to make the United States the global Bitcoin superpower and the world's capital of cryptocurrency. We are taking historic actions to fulfill this commitment." He also suggested, "From today on, the United States will follow the rule that every Bitcoin holder knows well—never sell your Bitcoin."

Trump mentioned that on the eve of the summit, he signed an executive order to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve and a digital asset reserve. He also announced the termination of the Biden administration's "Operation Choke Point 2.0," which he claimed had been stifling the crypto industry.

Trump's Key Messages: "Never Sell Your Bitcoin," Establishing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, and Ending "Operation Choke Point 2.0"

Trump opened the summit by welcoming attendees, saying, "I know many of you have been fighting for this for years, and it is an honor to have you all here at the White House. Last year, I promised to make the United States the global Bitcoin superpower and the world's capital of cryptocurrency. We are taking historic actions to fulfill this commitment, as you all know."

Among the attendees were numerous crypto policy officials and corporate executives. Sitting next to Trump were David Sacks, the White House AI and Crypto Czar; Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary; Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary; Kelly Loeffler, the SBA Administrator; Hester Peirce, the SEC Commissioner; Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip; Caroline Pham, the Acting CFTC Chair; Bryan Steil, the Chair of the House Digital Assets Subcommittee; and Bo Hines, the White House Digital Assets Policy Advisor.

This was the first-ever White House Digital Assets Summit. In his speech, Trump said, "Yesterday, I signed an executive order formally creating our strategic Bitcoin reserve, which will serve as a digital 'Fort Knox' to hold digital gold, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Treasury." He emphasized that the federal government already holds a large amount of Bitcoin, approximately 200,000 units, acquired through various law enforcement actions.

Trump criticized past federal policies, especially those during President Biden's administration, pointing out that the government "foolishly sold tens of thousands of Bitcoins, which would be worth billions of dollars today if they had been held." He proposed a new guiding principle for the new administration, suggesting, "From today on, the United States will follow the rule that every Bitcoin holder knows well—never sell your Bitcoin."

Trump also instructed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to find cost-free ways to increase Bitcoin holdings. He assured attendees, "The Treasury and Commerce Departments will also explore new ways to accumulate more Bitcoin for the reserve, without imposing any costs on taxpayers."

On the issue of regulation, Trump emphasized the plan to end "Operation Choke Point 2.0" and criticized the Biden administration for pressuring banks to close accounts related to crypto businesses. He said, "Regulators forced banks to close accounts of crypto companies and entrepreneurs." He promised that under his leadership, this practice would be terminated.

Trump concluded by expressing his support for Congress's work on stablecoin and digital asset legislation and urged the passage of relevant regulatory laws before the August recess to provide clear guidance. The initial plan had been to submit legislation within the first 100 days of his term, but this timeline has now been extended by four months.

No New Policies Lead to Brief Market Decline; Attendees Offer Diplomatic Remarks

After Trump's speech, David Sacks, the White House AI and Crypto Czar; Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary; Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary; Kelly Loeffler, the SBA Administrator; and Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip, all touched on crypto policies but did not disclose any new developments. They expressed their gratitude to Trump.

Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, said, "The Treasury's important responsibilities in this executive order involve tax policy and risk-weighting assessments. I can assure everyone here that we will work closely with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to repeal and revise all inappropriate existing guidelines. Additionally, we will carefully develop a regulatory framework for stablecoins. As President Trump has directed, we will ensure that the U.S. dollar continues to serve as the global dominant reserve currency and use stablecoins to strengthen this position."

Cameron Winklevoss, the founder of Gemini, and Sergey Nazarov, the founder of Chainlink, also expressed their appreciation for the Trump administration's shift in crypto policy.

However, since Trump did not announce any more substantial progress on crypto policies, the price of Bitcoin continued to decline after the summit, falling below the $86,000 mark shortly after the live broadcast ended.

In addition to the attendees mentioned above, other participants included Michael Saylor, the founder of Strategy; Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase; Chris Dixon, a partner at a16z; Fred Thiel, the CEO of Mara; Mike Belshe, the CEO of BitGo; Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple; Vlad Tenev, the co-founder and CEO of Robinhood; Arjun Sethi, the CEO of Kraken; and Tyler Winklevoss, the co-founder of Gemini.

Prior to the summit, there were rumors that Trump would announce a capital gains tax exemption for crypto sales. However, senior White House officials later confirmed that the digital assets summit would not address tax issues but would focus on repealing the restrictive policies of the previous Biden administration and gathering industry feedback on regulation.

Before the White House Crypto Summit, David Sacks, the White House AI and Crypto Czar, told reporters that Bitcoin holds strategic significance for the United States due to its scarcity and long-term store-of-value potential. When discussing the strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital asset reserve, he noted that ADA, SOL, and XRP were mentioned because they are among the top five market cap assets, not because the government has any special preference or policy inclination toward these assets.

According to Fox journalist Eleanor Terrett, Michael Saylor, the founder of Strategy, submitted a document on digital assets to the President's Working Group and the SEC Crypto Task Force. This document became one of the topics discussed at the White House Crypto Summit. The cover of the document mainly focused on digital asset terminology, policy vision, and goals. The core objectives included:

• "Establishing a robust framework to drive the crypto renaissance."

• "Unleashing the potential of the crypto industry to promote global economic growth."

• "Becoming the world's banker through revitalizing capitalism and property rights."

The First White House Digital Assets Summit Concludes with No New Policies Released; Market Declines After Trump Reaffirms Previous Policies

In summary, although no significant policy progress was announced at the White House Digital Assets Summit, the market remains highly anticipative of Trump's future crypto policies. After this historic summit, whether the Trump administration's crypto policies can truly drive industry transformation will continue to be a focal point of the crypto market.