MANHATTAN — U.S. President Donald Trump again touted his crypto bona fides at a conference Thursday, telling an audience it was an “honor” to be considered a crypto president.
Speaking in a 90-second recorded video at Coinbase’s (COIN) State of Crypto Summit (no relation to the CoinDesk newsletter with the same name), Trump reiterated comments he’s made at other events about ending his predecessor’s so-called war on crypto and forming a working group to examine digital assets.
Trump also referenced legislation working its way through Congress.
“My administration is working with governors to pass the GENIUS Act supporting the creation of dollar-backed stablecoins, and we also will be working to create clear and simple market frameworks that will allow America to dominate the future of crypto and bitcoin,” he told a filled room to scattered applause.
The Senate’s GENIUS Act will go through a procedural vote on Thursday, following a successful effort on Wednesday. Meanwhile, two key House committees advanced a market structure bill on Tuesday.
Trump also noted his executive order on establishing a national bitcoin BTC reserve, saying, “we created the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the United States Digital Asset stockpile,” though neither has actually been created yet.
Coinbase donated a million dollars to Trump’s inaugural fund, and was a major backer of the Fairshake super PAC in the 2024 election. It’s already committed tens of millions of dollars to Fairshake for the 2026 election.
Following his remarks, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Circle (CRCL) CEO Jeremy Allaire reflected on crypto and their respective company’s evolutions, arguing that crypto could become a bigger part of the global financial system.
Allaire, whose company went public on the New York Stock Exchange last week, said it was difficult for Circle to meet with backers or other entities a decade ago.
“It was amazing to me that, like, I’d literally walk in a room with an insurance company, [and] they were literally, like, we were not sure we’re allowed to have this meeting,” Allaire said.