[Bitcoin. Photo Credit to Pixabay]

In a first-of-its-kind “crypto summit,” meeting face to face with the leaders of virtually all of the top crypto companies in the United States, US President Donald Trump promised to make the country a Bitcoin superpower. 

President Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which would classify Bitcoin as a national reserve asset. 

The move has the goal of making America the world's Bitcoin powerhouse and the global center of cryptocurrency.

Under the new directive, the U.S. Department of Treasury will allocate Bitcoin previously seized as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture to help establish the reserve. 

With up to 200,000 Bitcoin already in government possession through legal proceedings and enforcement actions, the federal government is now one of the biggest holders of the digital asset.

The executive order gives the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce the authority to devise strategies for obtaining more bitcoin, so long as those plans don't result in increased expenses for American taxpayers.

Bitcoin, widely referred to as “digital gold” due to its capped supply of 21 million coins and its security record, has never been hacked.

These characteristics have underpinned its growing reputation as a scarce and reliable store of value.

Since assuming office, President Trump has orchestrated a complete transformation of federal policy on cryptocurrency. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has almost entirely reversed an aggressive campaign by the Biden administration to crack down on the industry. 

In recent months, the SEC has issued updated legal guidance favorable to the crypto industry, closed high-profile investigations, and dropped lawsuits against leading exchanges including Coinbase and Kraken.

Leaders from both firms were present at the White House event with the Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong seated just two chairs away from the president.

The meeting also brought to light President Trump's own cryptocurrency holdings, which ethics experts have characterized as a potential conflict of interest. 

Zach Witkoff, co-founder of World Liberty Financial (WLF), a cryptocurrency firm launched last year with the Trump family’s backing, attended the event. 

Witkoff is the son of Steve Witkoff, a longtime Trump ally and the administration’s envoy to the Middle East.

Previously a skeptic of cryptocurrency, President Trump adopted digital currencies during the campaign trail last year.

Crypto-friendly congressional candidates and major blockchain companies reportedly spent tens of millions of dollars promoting his candidacy.

In the fall, Trump and his sons joined the Witkoffs to establish World Liberty Financial, a platform offering crypto lending and borrowing services.

The family receives a portion of the sales of WLFI, the digital currency issued by World Liberty.

A few days prior to his inauguration, Trump also began marketing a cryptocurrency known as a "memecoin," which is associated with a celebrity mascot or an online joke. 

Investors lost a total of $2 billion when the coin, known as $Trump, had a short spike before collapsing.

During the summit’s public session, Trump sat between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House Crypto Policy Czar David Sacks.

President Trump celebrated the occasion as a turning point in how the country views the cryptocurrency sector.

He said that the nation's assets will be protected by a “virtual Fort Knox,” urging Americans to hold onto their Bitcoins rather than sell them.