Trump asks congress to pass crypto bill framed as key to keeping US tech edge

He says the act is a ‘very powerful structured legislation’ which will keep the US ahead of China and ‘everyone else’

Published Thu, Aug 20, 2026 · 10:01 AM

[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump pressed Congress to pass digital asset market structure legislation that is a top priority for the industry, as he hosted cryptocurrency executives at the White House on Wednesday (Aug 19).

Trump cast the so-called Clarity Act as critical to keeping the US edge in emerging technologies and was joined at the event by executives including Coinbase chief executive officer Brian Armstrong.

Other executives present included Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of Gemini Space Station, Arjun Sethi, the co-CEO of Payward, which operates the Kraken exchange, and Robinhood Markets CEO Vlad Tenev. 

“We need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act, a fair version of the Clarity Act,” Trump said. “It’s a very, very powerful structured legislation which will keep us ahead of China, keep us ahead of everyone else.”

Trump said the US was at the “very beginning of a revolution” in finance, with the “potential to create more jobs, opportunity, and wealth for all Americans”.

While Trump has been a champion for the crypto space in office, pushing an industry-friendly regulatory approach, executives have expressed worries about cementing those gains with passage of the Clarity Act deadlocked in Congress.