Crypto advocates are working to curry influence on key policy decisions. But when it came to Trump’s announcement, they were left out in the cold.
Trump seems to be leaving crypto’s typical government whisperers in the dark.
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Posted March 6, 2025 at 1:41 pm EST.
In the period between the November presidential election and January’s inauguration, crypto policy advocates were busy helping the Trump transition team prepare to take over the government.
Acting as industry insiders, advocacy groups like Blockchain Association, The Digital Chamber, and Crypto Council for Innovation were submitting lists of preferred candidates for crypto-relevant cabinet positions like the Secretary of the Treasury, Comptroller of the Currency, and Chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and providing their input on which assets should be in any crypto reserve.
But while these groups may have made some inroads with the administration on things like personnel and policy statements, it appears that they were left out in the cold of any decision related to the recently announced strategic crypto reserve, according to Washington insiders speaking to Unchained.
Blockchain Association Vice President of Marketing and Communications Curtis Kincaid also confirmed that his organization was unaware of the announcement beforehand. Press representatives for The Chamber of Digital Commerce did not respond to requests for comment, while press representatives for the Crypto Council for Innovation declined to comment. The White House also did not respond to a request for comment.
This spontaneous announcement from a president known to make unilateral decisions raises important questions about how the crypto industry will continue to influence policy decisions moving forward.
Crickets in the White House
One source who had been meeting with the White House crypto leads David Sacks and Bo Hines said that “I don’t think even [they] knew this was coming.” Adding to a belief that Trump’s top two crypto policy people were also on the outside is that the initial announcement on Sunday from President Trump that the reserve would initially hold XRP, SOL, and ADA was met with expected consternation and even ridicule from the community. Then, more than 90 minutes after his initial post, Trump added that BTC and ETH would be part of a reserve. The delay was taken as a signal by two of those Washington insiders speaking to Unchained as a reaction to the widespread confusion amongst the crypto community.
Read More: Trump Is Having Second Thoughts About His Crypto Council
Crypto Insiders Carry On
Despite this apparent sidelining, these groups continue to stay in communication with the White House crypto team to backchannel information and are lobbying lawmakers in Congress about key pieces of legislation.
For example, the industry groups played a key role in the Senate’s Tuesday vote to overturn the IRS DeFi broker rule, which would have expanded reporting requirements for DeFi developers, by educating Members of Congress on the issue. They had also previously sued the IRS over the rulemaking, providing an additional backstop to block its implementation if the Senate vote had been unsuccessful.
With legislation on stablecoins facing a Senate markup in the coming months and one on general crypto market structure expected in the next two years, the groups will continue to play a key role in pushing for the industry’s demands.
Read More: Blockchain Association Sues SEC Over Dealer Rule
That said, based on the most recent available information, no representatives from these groups will be attending tomorrow’s inaugural White House Crypto Policy Summit. Confirmed attendees will include Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and Paradigm Co-Founder Matt Huang. While these individuals’ companies are members of these advocacy groups, any information that they will glean from the meeting will likely come secondhand, leaving them on the outside for at least one more day.
