Trump Meets with Crypto Executives Amid Controversy Over Conflicts of Interest
President Donald Trump hosted a meeting at the White House on August 19, 2026, with top crypto executives, praising them as 'a great group of people' and 'tremendous investors.'
The gathering was part of an innovation advisory committee, but critics see it as a display of Trump's tangled relationship with the industry. The president has amassed enormous wealth in crypto, earning $1.4 billion for his family last year.
Among those attending were Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, which partnered with Trump's World Liberty Financial; Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, a World Liberty partner; and Brian Armstrong, founder of Coinbase, both of whose companies offer platforms for buying and selling coins launched by the Trumps.
Trump called on Congress to pass the Clarity Act, a bill that would create business-friendly rules for crypto. The legislation has faced hurdles in the Senate due to Democratic concerns over public officials profiting from digital currencies.