Last year, Donald Trump took the stage of the Las Vegas Bitcoin Conference to worship at the altar of cryptocurrency. He said he would fire Gary Gensler, the former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission who led a yearslong crackdown on crypto fraud. The audience roared. He ended on a rousing note: We will make America and Bitcoin bigger, better, stronger, richer, freer, and greater than ever before.�
Some crypto activists were perturbed. Sure, Trump rallied behind Bitcoin as a source of industrial growth, but why wouldnt he commit to outright replacing banking with digital currencies? Trump failed to comment on the traditional banks, which crypto advocates thought were discriminating against them by shutting down their accounts, or fiat currency, which some crypto boosters hope to replace entirely.
One year later, President Trump skipped out on the Bitcoin Conference, but he sent his envoys. The administrations crypto message has become even more muddled. While Vice President JD Vance emphasized that stablecoins regulated by the administration’s new crypto proposal (the GENIUS Act) dont threaten the integrity of the U.S. dollar, Eric Trump said that hed like to see some major banks go extinct. It seems no one will decide whether crypto is a strength toor a replacement forthe U.S. financial system.
Mixed signals at the 2025 Bitcoin Conference
Vice President Vance headlined the conference, where he struck a similar tone to Trumps 2024 speech. He emphasized that Bitcoin is part of the mainstream economy, calling it a digital assetbut not a currency.
Vance also promoted the GENIUS Act, which would set regulations for currency or commodity-backed stablecoins (crypto currencies pegged to fiat currency or other reference asset) so they could flow more freely. The bill has already passed through the Senate, and is waiting for a House vote. Vance promised that these coins wouldn’t threaten the dollar. Dollar-pegged stablecoins, particularly once GENIUS is enacted, are only going to help the American economy and [are] only going to help the American dollar, he claimed.�
Central to Trumps crypto strategy was the establishment of a Bitcoin reserve, allowing the government to collect and hold cryptocurrency from criminal or civil asset seizures. But whether this stockpile operates alongside, or in competition with dollar spending remains blurry.
Bo Hines, the executive director of Trumps digital assets advisory, spoke of Bitcoin as something the government could grow endlessly. We want as much of it as we can possibly get, he said at the conference. Were not going to sell any Bitcoin that we have in the U.S. government, period.
On the other hand, Trumps crypto czar David Sacks was more measured in his words. He said that he cant promise anything, but that he hoped the government would be able to buy more Bitcoin. If either the Commerce Department or the Treasury Department can figure out how to fund it without adding to the debt, then they are allowed to create those programs, he claimed. Maybe find the money from some other program thats not using it.
While they struck different tones, Vance, Hines, and Sacks all spoke of Bitcoin as an asset class. Whether it could constitute a new financial systemthe currencys original missionwas outside the question. But Eric Trumpwhile not an administration official, is certainly influential on Trump policyclaimed that crypto could replace banking entirely: It makes everything cheaper, it makes it faster, it makes it safer, it makes it more transparent. He said that hed love to see some of the big banks go extinct.�
What does the Trump administration really think about Bitcoin?
Trump has backed crypto expansion forcefully, but his rationale remains slippery. At the recent Blockworks Digital Asset Summit, Trump told the audience that they will unleash an explosion of international growth, but didnt explain how, other than a brief reference to stablecoins supporting the dollar. It is exciting to watch as you invent the future of finance, Trump said, while not venturing to explain whether that future included traditional banks.
Why is Trump so into crypto? Much of it is likely for personal gain. Trump has raked in millions on his memecoins and NFTs, sending cash directly to his wallet. Crypto advocates also helped Trump reach the White House in the first place. Their lobby has political heft: According to a New Yorker report, they tanked Katie Porter’s California Senate bid after she expressed mere glimmers of anti-crypto rhetoric.
But theres a political tension underlying Trumps crypto push. If he says that crypto will replace bankingor even fiat currencytraditional financiers could riot. But, if he claims that Bitcoin is merely an asset class and not the future of finance, he could anger the crypto community.
For now, Trump and his administration will try to sit on both sides of the fence.
