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I enjoyed taking the Digital Asset Summit stage with Algorand Foundation CEO Staci Warden a few hours ago.
Our opening act? The president of the United States.
There wasn’t exactly market-moving crypto news out of Donald Trump’s mouth (i.e. another executive order) — though he did utter the word “Blockworks” upon kicking off his three-minute virtual address.
Warden and I watched Trump on a screen backstage. Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor — the speaker to follow us — was close by, getting mic’d up. It was an interesting moment.
The president doubled down on some of what we heard on the campaign trail and during his first couple months in office.
Trump vowed the US would “dominate crypto and the next generation of financial technologies.” He labeled the so-called Operation Chokepoint 2.0 as “a form of lawfare through government weaponization” that “went beyond regulation.”
To that point, Warden told me: “Frankly, we don’t even need directive support. We just need to not be hampered.
“We have the deepest, most liquid financial markets in the world,” she added. “If we could just have a level playing field, we can definitely compete globally.”
Trump flattered the DAS crowd, noting, “Pioneers like you will be able to improve our banking and payment system.” Warden also spoke about these applications and broader blockchain adoption.
The Trump appearance offered a bit of a jolt to the conference for some — and it’s safe to assume legislation is coming. The questions, of course, are how quickly, what the final versions will look like, and how exactly the legislation will spur the next generation of financial markets.