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The election of Donald Trump marked a sea change for U.S. crypto policy.

The symbolism of that transformation was on full display at the White House’s first-ever Crypto Summit, at which President Trump met with several crypto business leaders. But what was actually said behind closed doors? And does this mark the beginning of a truly pro-crypto shift—or just another short-lived political move?

In this episode, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe and former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo break down what really happened at the summit, whether the proposed Bitcoin reserve is a smart idea or a political gimmick, and why some believe the U.S. dollar could one day be backed by BTC.

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Bitwise

Guests:

• Mike Belshe, CEO at BitGo
• Chris Giancarlo, Senior counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and former CFTC chairman

Links

• Recent coverage of Unchained on the Bitcoin Reserve and the White House Crypto Summit :
  • Trump Says He Is Ending Operation Choke Point 2.0
  • Trump Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
  • Trump’s Surprise Crypto Reserve Announcement Iced Out D.C. Insiders
  • How Did Ripple Sell Trump on XRP in a Crypto Reserve? By Pushing for Solana
  • Why Trump May Have Chosen This Week to Announce a Strategic Crypto Reserve
  • Which Crypto Assets Belong in a Reserve? This VC Says Not XRP and ADA
• Chris’s article: Crypto neo-privateers could be the solution to hacks
• Nic Carter’s tweet on Trump’s crypto endeavours
• Omid Malekan’s analogy of the SBR with buying a shirt