President highlights deregulation, crypto policy reforms and emerging technologies as key to keeping the United States ahead of China and other global competitors
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump invited finance, technology and cryptocurrency executives to the White House on Aug. 19 for a Roosevelt Room ceremony focused on innovation and opportunities to advance American interests.
The ceremony took place one day before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Innovation Advisory Committee was scheduled to hold its first meeting. According to Trump, reducing regulatory obstacles and bureaucratic red tape are among the group’s priorities.
“The radical left tried to crush these developments with crippling regulations,” Trump said.
The president outlined steps taken by his administration to remove restrictions and support new financial technologies, including the removal of former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and the termination of federal efforts known as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” which sought to block crypto and de-bank digital assets.
“We ended the war on crypto,” Trump said.
During his second term, Trump has signed multiple executive orders related to the sector. One established a strategic Bitcoin reserve, while another prohibited federal agencies from creating a central bank digital currency.
A bill signed in July 2025, known as the GENIUS Act, or Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins, established guidelines for dollar-backed stablecoins.
“Every single American benefits from our country’s status as the financial center of the world,” Trump said.
“We are ensuring that America remains the undisputed leader in technologies like prediction markets, artificial intelligence, and much more,” he said, urging lawmakers to support the agenda by passing relevant legislation, including the Clarity Act, which would establish a federal framework for digital assets.
“It’s very powerful structured legislation which will keep us ahead of China and everyone else,” the president said. “We will open the door to the next wave of innovations and innovators.”
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig welcomed the opportunity to work with industry leaders and shape future policy discussions, emphasizing the difference between the current administration’s approach and that of its predecessor.
“The era of political law is over,” Selig said during the event. “Innovators like the people in this room are welcome to the White House, not railroaded to the big house.”
Selig praised Trump for overseeing reforms to crypto policy and protecting intellectual property rights for software companies and others.
“We’ve exiled, defeated the anti-crypto army and made the United States the crypto capital of the world,” Selig said, while warning that China and other adversaries are seeking to exploit strict regulatory structures imposed by the U.S. government.
“The United States has a choice. We can write the rules that define the next generation, or we can let other countries write them for us.”
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins described efforts to make initial public offerings “great again” by cutting red tape that discourages companies from going public.
He cited agency statistics showing a 75 percent increase in IPOs during the first year and a half of Trump’s administration compared with the final 18 months of President Joe Biden’s term. The 583 companies that went public raised $208 billion, four times the amount raised through IPOs during Biden’s final 18 months in office.
Industry leaders discussed the impact of the current administration’s deregulatory agenda on businesses and equity markets.
Jeff Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, highlighted Trump’s use of trade negotiations to reshore manufacturing, an America-dominant energy strategy and investment incentives as key catalysts behind the stock market’s performance.
“We are here to talk about how to evolve regulation so that we don’t impede that progress,” Sprecher said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are among the Cabinet officials involved in the discussions.
The advisory committee is scheduled to meet from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Aug. 20. The meeting will be livestreamed on the agency’s website.
