Trump Says He Hopes to See Stablecoin Legislation Before August Recess — WSJ
By Vicky Ge HuangPresident Trump said at Friday's White House crypto summit that he hopes lawmakers send stablecoin legislation to his desk before Congress's August recess.He expressed his support for lawmakers working on bills to "provide regulatory certainty for dollar-backed stablecoins and the digital-assets market." He said he wants to keep the U.S. dollar "long into the future."The president also called for an end to "Operation Choke Point 2.0." The catchphrase refers to what the industry believes to be a plot to kill the crypto business under the Biden administration by cutting off its access to the banking system."They strong-arm banks into closing the accounts of crypto businesses and entrepreneurs, effectively blocking some money transfers to and from exchanges, and they weaponized government against the entire industry," he said. "But I know that feeling also, maybe better than you do. All of that will soon be over."President Trump signed an executive order Thursday that established a strategic bitcoin reserve and a stockpile for other cryptocurrencies. The reserve and stockpile will be funded using cryptocurrencies seized in criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. The government will not purchase additional cryptocurrencies, but the Treasury and Commerce Departments will explore ways to purchase bitcoin for the reserve without using taxpayer money, according to the order.About two dozen crypto executives attended the event, including Coinbase Global CEO Brian Armstrong, MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Trumps' crypto czar David Sacks, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were also in attendance.The price of bitcoin, which was hovering just below $88,000 before President Trump's speech, dropped to $86,964.99 at 4 p.m. ET, down 2.3% from its level 24 hours ago, according to CoinDesk data.This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).