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Trump to Chair Crypto Meeting
President Donald Trump will personally chair a White House meeting on August 19 with chief executives from cryptocurrency firms, prediction market operators, and heads of traditional financial institutions, as the CLARITY Act faces headwinds in Congress.
“President Donald Trump will personally chair a White House meeting on August 19”
The CFTC's newly established Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC) is set to convene at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House on August 19, one day before its first official meeting scheduled for August 20.
The August 19–20 meetings are drawing attention because congressional action on the CLARITY Act has stalled, with the bill pushed to next month.
The CFTC said it will livestream the August 20 meeting on its website, and the opening session is titled "Crypto's Regulatory Evolution: From Uncertainty to Clarity."
Who Will Attend
BigGo Finance said the White House meeting is expected to draw CEOs from IAC member companies including Coinbase, Ripple, Gemini, Robinhood, Polymarket, and Kalshi, along with representatives from venture capital firm a16z and industry group the Digital Chamber.
On the traditional finance side, executives from CME Group, Nasdaq, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and DTCC President Frank La Salla are slated to attend, while CFTC Chairman Mike Selick and Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Digital Asset Advisory Committee, will participate.
CoinDesk similarly described the meeting as taking place at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House, with participants informed that Trump plans to attend.
CoinDesk also said the attendee list was expected to include the CFTC Chairman, Mike Seligy, and other advisers, and that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick could attend.
Regulatory Stakes and Ethics
BigGo Finance said the meetings are expected to focus on "areas where regulatory action can complement future congressional legislation" and "remaining tasks for building a sustainable federal market structure."
“how much regulatory clarity the CFTC can deliver for digital asset markets”
The same source framed the key question as how much regulatory clarity the CFTC can deliver for digital asset markets through executive branch action alone while legislation is adrift in Congress.
CoinDesk added that additional actions could depend on whether the president is willing to accept stricter ethics restrictions governing his personal involvement in the crypto industry.
CoinDesk also reported that the Thursday afternoon meeting at the CFTC will delve into the group's innovation agenda, with the inaugural session titled, "Regulatory Evolution of Cryptocurrencies: From Uncertainty to Clarity."