Author: Techub Crypto Conspiracy
——From regulatory games to ecological reconstruction, who is defining the future of encryption?
On March 7, 2025, the White House held its first cryptocurrency industry summit. This closed-door meeting led by the Trump administration is regarded by the industry as a key milestone for cryptocurrency to move from marginal innovation to mainstream because of its "all-star" lineup and forward-looking topics. From exchange giants, Wall Street capital to blockchain protocol founders, multiple forces gathered in Washington to engage in a fierce game on the balance of regulation and innovation. How will this conference reshape the rules and structure of the global crypto market? The following is an in-depth analysis from three dimensions: the background of the participants, the core issues and the potential impact.
Participant Map: The Trio of Power, Capital and Technology
Although the list of 50 people at the summit has not been fully disclosed, according to a White House statement, the meeting was led by David Sacks, the "cryptocurrency czar" and head of White House artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency affairs, and managed by Bo Hines, executive director of the Digital Asset Advisory Committee. Participants included not only business leaders such as Coinbase and MicroStrategy, but also members of the President's Digital Asset Task Force, highlighting the Trump administration's all-round wooing of the crypto industry.
(The above picture only shows some of the participants)
1. Exchanges and financial services giants: pioneers in compliance
Brian Armstrong (Coinbase CEO) is the helmsman of the largest compliant exchange in the United States. In recent years, Coinbase has promoted the Digital Asset Market Structure Act (DAMA) through lobbying, and its appeal is directly directed at the SEC to clarify the token classification standards. Armstrong publicly stated before the meeting: "Regulation should not be the enemy of innovation, but a shield to protect users."
Vlad Tenev (Robinhood CEO) Robinhood has attracted more than 20 million young users with zero-commission crypto trading, but its "order flow payment" model has been investigated by the SEC. At this meeting, Tenev may promote a retail-friendly regulatory framework to balance market access and risk control.
Arjun Sethi (Kraken CEO) Kraken was recently sued by the SEC for its staking services. Sethi’s speech may focus on “modernization of regulatory measures” and emphasize the controversial applicability of traditional securities laws to on-chain activities such as staking and lending.
2. Bitcoin fundamentalists: Decentralization evangelists
Michael Saylor (founder of MicroStrategy) is a "Bitcoin whale" who holds more than 200,000 BTC. Saylor has always advocated that "Bitcoin is digital gold." His speech is expected to emphasize the independence of Bitcoin's monetary policy and oppose the potential erosion of CBDC on crypto assets.
David Bailey (CEO of Bitcoin Magazine) , as the voice of the Bitcoin core community, may criticize the damage to the spirit of decentralization caused by "excessive regulation" and call for the protection of miners' rights and privacy technology innovation.
3. Capital traders: institutional promoters
Matt Huang (co-founder of Paradigm), a top Silicon Valley crypto venture capital firm that has led investments in star projects such as Uniswap and FTX, may propose "progressive regulation" and advocate the establishment of a sandbox mechanism for DeFi protocols.
Kyle Samani (Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital) , who is famous for betting on disruptive projects such as Solana and Helium, may emphasize that "regulation needs to adapt to the multi-chain ecosystem" to avoid a recurrence of Ethereum's centralization problem.
4. Protocol builders: the key players in technology implementation
Sergey Nazarov (co-founder of Chainlink) Chainlink oracles provide data support for the DeFi ecosystem worth over $100 billion. Nazarov may call for the establishment of an "on-chain compliance infrastructure" such as a verifiable KYC oracle network.
The participation of Jp Richardson (Exodus CEO) , a self-hosted wallet manufacturer, suggests that the meeting may discuss private key management standards and balance user asset control with anti-money laundering requirements.
5. Representatives of emerging forces: the voice of globalization and liberalism
Zach Witkoff (co-founder of World Liberty Fund) The organization is committed to promoting financial inclusion through cryptocurrency. Witkoff may propose the concept of "regulatory exemption zones" to allow developing countries to experiment with cryptocurrency policies.
Core issues: rift and consensus coexist
Despite the Trump administration's high-profile overtures to the crypto industry, the market has been volatile recently - Bitcoin has fallen from a high of $109,800 in January to a low of $78,200, almost wiping out all the gains since the election. Analysts point out that the market urgently needs two catalysts: the Fed's expected rate cuts to materialize or the Trump administration's introduction of a clear regulatory framework .
1. Regulatory framework: Where can the SEC’s “iron fist” reach?
Token classification deadlock : The SEC adheres to the "Howey Test" principle and recognizes that most tokens are securities; companies such as Coinbase require dynamic classification based on the actual use of tokens (such as governance, payment).
DeFi regulatory vacuum : Do protocols such as Uniswap need to bear “exchange” responsibilities? Paradigm may propose “exemption of protocol developers and regulation of front-end interfaces”.
Cross-border law enforcement challenges : The U.S. Department of Justice is concerned about coin mixers such as Tornado Cash, but the decentralized nature of the technology has put accountability at a standstill.
2. Financial stability: Is cryptocurrency a “source of risk” or a “cure”?
Priority of stablecoin legislation : Circle (issuer of USDC) advocates placing stablecoin regulation before CBDC to avoid a double impact on the US dollar system.
Too Big to Fail (TBTF) Controversy : If Systemically Important Institutions Like Coinbase Go Bankrupt, Should a “Crypto Deposit Insurance Fund” Be Established?
Exploration of countercyclical tools : MicroStrategy proposes to allow companies to include a combination of government bonds and Bitcoin in their balance sheets to hedge against fiat currency inflation risks.
3. Technological innovation: Who can define the next generation infrastructure standards?
The battle of modular blockchains : Celestia’s modular architecture challenges Ethereum’s “all-powered chain” model; regulation may affect the choice of technology routes.
ZK-Rollup Compliance Paradox : How to balance privacy and regulatory transparency? Vitalik Buterin’s “Compliance ZK-SNARKs” solution may be a compromise option.
AI and encryption converge : Worldcoin’s iris scanning identity protocol is under investigation by multiple countries, and the summit may discuss on-chain storage specifications for biometric data.
4. The two polar narratives of price prediction:
Standard Chartered Bank's crazy prediction : Analyst Geoff Kendrick predicts that Bitcoin may hit $500,000 during Trump's term, citing reasons including the explosion of institutional demand and increased regulatory certainty;
Reality constraints : If the Fed postpones interest rate cuts or the regulatory framework becomes vague, the market may once again fall into "policy panic selling."
III. Potential impact: Five predictions for 2025-2030
The consensus and differences of this summit will have a profound impact on the direction of the industry in the next five years:
1. Regulation: From wild growth to “licensing system 2.0”
The United States may launch a "federal crypto license" to replace the current MTL (money transmission license) system in each state, causing exchanges' compliance costs to soar and accelerating the elimination of small and medium-sized platforms. The SEC may issue a "non-securities statement" for the top 50 tokens by market value to clear the way for institutional entry.
2. Market structure: Institutional investors take over, while retail investors retreat
The scale of Bitcoin ETFs of asset management giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity will exceed US$500 billion, controlling pricing power. Retail investors turn to "compliant DeFi" products such as tokenized treasury bond funds, and yield competition replaces speculation.
3. Technical route: innovation trade-offs under compliance priority
Privacy coins (such as Monero) may be completely delisted, Zcash needs to be forced to enable transparent transaction mode, and Ethereum L2 needs to embed a "regulatory module", such as automatically reporting large transactions to the authorities.
4. Geo-Finance: US Dollar Stablecoin Alliance vs Multipolar Reserves
The United States may join hands with G7 countries to establish a "Stablecoin Standards Committee" to include USDT and USDC in the IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket. Emerging market countries are accelerating the layout of their own stablecoins, such as Nigeria's eNaira and cryptocurrency interoperability agreement.
5. Social Controversy: Energy, Fairness, and AI Ethics
Bitcoin mining may be included in the "green bond" framework to hedge emission disputes through carbon credit trading. DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) may be granted "limited legal personality", but its decision-making algorithm must be subject to anti-discrimination review.
Conclusion: Summit Commitments and
Market bets
The role played by Trump in the summit is essentially a high-risk political gamble - harvesting crypto votes and capital support by loosening regulations, while shaping "US crypto hegemony" as a personal legacy. Although the White House statement promises to "provide a clear regulatory framework to promote innovation", the real anxiety of the market lies in: Can this policy dividend offset the uncertainty of the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy and geopolitical conflicts?
As Chainlink founder Sergey Nazarov warned after the meeting: "When cryptocurrency becomes a political tool, its fate is tied to the power game in Washington." This summit may have won the industry a respite, but the tug-of-war between decentralized idealism and centralized power is destined to be a game with no end.
