Digging deep into the White House crypto summit, who are the 25 mysterious seats?

Written by: angelilu, Foresight News

David Sacks, the AI and cryptocurrency mogul in the U.S., confirmed on March 1 via Twitter that the White House will hold its first cryptocurrency summit on March 7, with U.S. President Trump personally participating and delivering a speech. The mere title of "White House First Cryptocurrency Summit" is enough to stir up waves in the crypto industry. Following this, U.S. President Trump stated the next day (March 2) that he would establish a "cryptocurrency strategic reserve," mentioning the inclusion of XRP, SOL, and ADA in the reserve, and adding that other top cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH would also be included.

As people sought more information, David Sacks spoke again, stating that more information related to the establishment of the cryptocurrency strategic reserve would be revealed at the summit on March 7.

The Summit's Predecessor: The "Cryptocurrency Advisory Committee"

Although there is little official information available about the summit, currently only a screenshot of an unpublished White House document from David Sacks exists, there are plenty of rumors.

FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett revealed that Friday's White House cryptocurrency summit will be the first in a series of meetings, replacing the previously much-anticipated "Cryptocurrency Advisory Committee" as a way for the President's Digital Asset Working Group to collaborate with the industry to formulate policies, with 25 invitees already confirmed.

It is worth noting that even before Trump's inauguration, executives in the crypto industry were vying for these coveted "Cryptocurrency Advisory Committee" seats. The committee was tasked with drafting legislation, establishing a Bitcoin reserve, and promoting regulatory clarity. Reports indicated that the committee was originally planned to consist of about 24 CEOs and founders from the crypto industry, but an official list has yet to be released. According to previous reports from Bloomberg, founders of major U.S. crypto projects have been trying hard to secure a spot through various networks. However, the 25 seats clearly cannot satisfy the ambitions of industry leaders. In mid-February, insiders revealed that Trump was considering replacing the original idea of the cryptocurrency advisory committee with an informal industry summit, potentially converting fixed seats into rotating ones.

Coincidentally, the initial rumored guest list for this cryptocurrency summit was also about 25 people. The invited representatives are likely to be the first to grasp the core intelligence regarding the selection criteria for the U.S. cryptocurrency strategic reserve assets, which means that the likelihood of digital assets associated with these representatives being included in the national strategic reserve will significantly increase. Industry analysts have pointed out that, aside from Bitcoin, other assets in the U.S. government's cryptocurrency strategic reserve will likely need to be purchased on the open market, which will undoubtedly bring significant benefits to the related assets.

Who Will Attend?

In addition to the clearly mentioned U.S. President Trump, AI and cryptocurrency mogul David Sacks, and Executive Director of the Crypto Working Group Bo Hines, sources indicate that political figures attending the summit will also include U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, New York Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins.

For more about Bo Hines, read: 《Who is Bo Hines, the leader of this week's White House cryptocurrency summit?》

Aside from political figures, the crypto industry is more concerned about who from the industry will be able to participate in this summit.

Although the official list has not yet been released, based on existing information and recent dynamics, we can speculate on several potentially important participants.

First, in the past few hours, several well-known industry figures have confirmed their attendance at the summit (of course, there are also community members jokingly using the same template text). Additionally, based on previous reports from Bloomberg, most of the potential appointees in the "Cryptocurrency Advisory Committee" have already established relationships with Trump and have met with him in recent months, which is an important basis for further speculation.

Confirmed Attendees

Brad Garlinghouse (Ripple CEO)

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was one of the first to hint at being on the invite list in a tweet. He retweeted David Sacks' tweet and stated that he would be in Washington at the time of the summit.

Looking back, the connection between Trump and Ripple can be traced back to last December when Ripple donated $5 million worth of XRP to Trump's inauguration. Subsequently, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Ripple's Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoty were spotted dining with the President at Mar-a-Lago.

Additionally, in February, Trump shared an article from CoinDesk about Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse on Truth Social, which sparked price fluctuations in XRP. In March, XRP was included in the U.S. cryptocurrency reserve assets.

Matt Huang (Co-founder of Paradigm)

Another confirmed attendee is Matt Huang, co-founder of Paradigm, who confirmed on March 5 via Twitter that he would attend the White House digital asset summit on Friday and thanked President Trump for the invitation. He expressed anticipation for discussions on topics including how the U.S. can lead in promoting open crypto principles and support builders in ecosystems like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

Kyle Samani (Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital)

Kyle Samani, managing partner of Multicoin Capital, also confirmed his attendance at the summit via a tweet.

Michael Saylor (Founder of Strategy)

Michael Saylor tweeted to confirm his participation.

David Bailey (Bitcoin Magazine)

Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey retweeted Michael Saylor's tweet with the caption "See you there," suggesting he will also attend the summit.

Jp Richardson (CEO of Exodus)

Jp Richardson, CEO of crypto wallet provider Exodus, confirmed his attendance at this Friday's digital asset summit and mentioned that self-custody might be discussed. Previously, Exodus had also made donations to Trump's campaign.

Zach Witkoff (Co-founder of World Liberty Fund)

Zach Witkoff confirmed via tweet that he would attend the White House digital asset summit on Friday.

Possible Attendees?

Charles Hoskinson (Founder of Cardano)

Hoskinson previously stated through his personal podcast that he has been involved in shaping U.S. crypto policy and revealed in February that he would meet with a "big figure." Similarly, ADA has been included in the U.S. cryptocurrency reserve assets.

Hoskinson's comments also suggest he may attend the summit. After questioning why ADA was included in the reserve, he tweeted on March 2, "Tonight the administration will not appoint anyone to any cryptocurrency-related role; the meeting does not imply endorsement or magical new powers. The legislative process is what it is, and it takes time and effort.

I will not comment on this topic again until I receive clear and tangible information related to the legislative process to formulate new laws that allow the industry to survive and thrive in the U.S."

Jeremy Allaire (CEO of Circle)

Circle has also donated to Trump's inauguration fund, and as the issuer of USDC, it plays a significant role in the stablecoin space. Its CEO Jeremy Allaire may speak at the summit, especially considering that stablecoins could become an important component of U.S. regulation.

Brian Armstrong (CEO of Coinbase)

Before Trump took office, insiders indicated that Trump had a private meeting with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and Brian Armstrong has mentioned that President Trump showed a keen interest in a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Coinbase has been actively involved in discussions about U.S. cryptocurrency policy, with Brian Armstrong meeting with U.S. lawmakers and regulators multiple times and publicly calling for a reasonable regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Coinbase has recently been very assertive in facing legal challenges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), continuously pushing for regulatory clarity.

Kris Marszalek (CEO of Crypto.com)

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek has also posted a photo with Trump, and that tweet is currently pinned on his profile. Crypto.com donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration committee, so it is not hard to suspect that Kris Marszalek is also on the list.

Nathan Allman (CEO of Ondo Finance)

Ondo has also donated to Trump's inauguration committee, and the Trump family's crypto project WLFI has purchased Ondo's token ONDO. Nathan Allman expressed support for the U.S. cryptocurrency strategic reserve, stating, "As a blockchain company headquartered in the U.S., we believe that President Trump's establishment of a U.S. strategic cryptocurrency reserve is a key step towards U.S. digital asset leadership."

Sergey Nazarov (Co-founder of Chainlink)

Sergey Nazarov's latest tweet indicates he is in Washington and has been in close contact with government officials during the last week of February.

Stuart Alderoty (Chief Legal Officer of Ripple)

It is currently unclear whether a company or entity has only one slot. Ripple's Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty cannot confirm whether he is on the invite list, although he has been photographed with Brad Garlinghouse and Trump and has over 30 years of legal experience. However, Stuart Alderoty has not posted any updates related to the summit on his X account recently.

Joseph Lubin (Founder of Consensys)

Although Ethereum co-founder and Consensys founder Joseph Lubin has not commented much on the upcoming summit, he did express his views on Trump's establishment of a cryptocurrency reserve, stating, "My colleagues at Consensys and I spent a lot of time in Washington, D.C. before and after the November 5 election. The Trump administration is very aware of Ethereum's status, maturity, and capabilities. The Trump family is very keen on establishing many businesses on Ethereum."

Additionally, Eleanor Terrett confirmed on X that the guest list will be smaller than previously expected, as this summit will include other members of the President's Digital Asset Working Group, but a larger, invite-only reception is planned for those not invited to the roundtable across the street from the White House. Possible attendees may also include:

Furthermore, the community speculates that Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Kraken CEO Arjun Sethi, and Cathie Wood may attend the summit, but no relevant clues have been found.

Summary

As one of the important industry meetings launched by Trump's new administration, this summit will have a profound impact on the development landscape of cryptocurrencies in the U.S. and globally.

During the summit's preparation phase, when it was still referred to as the "Cryptocurrency Advisory Committee," insiders revealed that the agenda included core areas such as digital payment innovation, the construction of cryptocurrency data centers, and planning for the Bitcoin mining industry.

There are also community rumors that the Trump administration plans to introduce a zero capital gains tax policy, exempting taxes on cryptocurrency assets held for over a year.

Industry experts generally predict that this summit will delve into several key topics: first, establishing a U.S. cryptocurrency strategic reserve, which not only concerns national digital asset security but will also bring significant value enhancement to selected assets; second, clarifying the regulatory framework to provide a stable and predictable environment for industry development; third, promoting widespread institutional adoption to push crypto assets into the mainstream financial system; and finally, addressing some controversial regulatory policies to ensure the healthy development of the industry.

In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is actively preparing a series of thematic seminars, with the first one scheduled for March 21 at the SEC headquarters in Washington, D.C., focusing on the foundational issue of "defining the status of securities."