Bitcoin Magazine White House Draws Line Between Bitcoin And Digital Assets At Its First Crypto Summit, In EO “From this day on, America will follow the rule that everyone in Bitcoin knows very well — never sell your Bitcoin.” -President Donald Trump, 3/7/25 at inaugural White House Crypto Summit The President of the United States is now reciting popular Bitcoin maxims as they pertain to America’s bitcoin stack. Wild. It’s clear that he’s gotten the message that bitcoin is something altogether different than all other digital assets. He’s proven this not only by what he said at today’s Crypto Summit, but also by signing an executive order (EO) last night that established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) independently of a Digital Asset stockpile. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Regarding the SBR, the President said today that the U.S. plans to hold onto the bitcoin it has in its possession, unlike previous administrations who have sold massive sums of it. “Unfortunately, in recent years, the U.S. government has foolishly sold tens of thousands of bitcoin (200,000, by some estimates ) that were worth billions and billions of dollars had they not sold them,” said President Trump. That said, the President also shared that members of his administration will pursue avenues to accumulate bitcoin — at no expense to the American public. “The Treasury and Commerce departments will explore new pathways to accumulate additional bitcoin holdings for the reserve, provided it’s done at no cost to the taxpayers,” he said. “We don’t want any cost to the taxpayers,” he reiterated, highlighting the notion that the U.S. government plans to amass bitcoin in a “budget-neutral” (to borrow language from last night’s EO) manner. Attendees Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were present at the summit alongside approximately 30 prominent members of the Bitcoin and crypto industry, including Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and BTC Inc. CEO David Bailey. President Trump with nearly three dozen notable members of the Bitcoin and crypto industry. Photo credit: Frank Corva Other members of the Trump administration, including head of Small Business Administration Kelly Loeffler and White House Crypto Czar David Sacks, were also in attendance. Both Sacks and Loeffler praised the pace at which Trump is making progress with Bitcoin and crypto executive orders and legislation. “Your administration is moving at tech [startup] speed,” said Sacks. “It’s actually faster than any startup that I’ve been part of,” added the venture capitalist, well-known for investing in many tech startups over the course of his career. Secretary Lutnick vouched for President Trump’s newfound Bitcoin and crypto knowledge, adding that the President has truly come to embrace the technology. “Blockchain and Bitcoin technology are a key part of [the President’s] thinking,” said Lutnick. “We’re using blockchain. We’re using Bitcoin. We’re going to use digital assets to [push] forward, and Donald Trump is leading the way,” he added. Stablecoins As Money, Bitcoin As Store Of Value Now, before you go and get too excited about Secretary Lutnick talking about “using” bitcoin, please know that with all the bullish bitcoin talk at the event, not a word of bitcoin being used as money was uttered. Instead, it was solely referred to as a savings technology. As far as digital assets that the administration views as money, stablecoins stand alone. And Secretary Bessent reinforced this message, most recently pushed at both the first U.S. Press Conference on Digital Assets and the first Subcommittee on Digital Assets hearing , at the summit. “We are going to put a lot of thought into the stablecoin regime,” said Secretary Bessent. “And as President Trump has directed, we are going to keep the U.S. [dollar] the dominant reserve currency in the world, and we will use stablecoins to do that.” (And before you go cursing Secretary Bessent under your breath as you read this, please note that he also dropped an absolutely banger of a pro-bitcoin one-liner at the event: “President Trump is creating assets for the American people while most past presidents have created debt.”) What Wasn’t Discussed What is more, on a summit preview call with senior White House officials this morning, one of the officials dispelled the rumor that the administration would remove the capital gains tax from crypto sales (which is also applicable when you spend bitcoin or crypto), clearly stating that the administration has no plans to do this and that the topic wouldn’t even be broached at the summit. (It wasn’t.) Something else that wasn’t discussed at the summit was whether or not the U.S. Marshalls have provided the Trump administration with a proper audit of the bitcoin and other digital assets in their custody (last it was reported, they apparently have little idea of what they’re holding ). Also unmentioned was how the government plans to secure the private keys to the bitcoin it keeps in the SBR. (I planned to inquire about the latter, but the members of the press present at the event weren’t permitted to ask questions.) But let’s not get lost in some of the currently minor details here. It Was A Good Day Instead, let’s take a queue from Brian Armstrong, and acknowledge that today was, by many standards, a good day. “It was a pretty historic moment for the crypto industry,” Armstrong told Bitcoin Magazine after the summit had concluded. “President Trump really breathed life back into this industry. A few years ago, it felt like we were under attack, and some folks tried to unlawfully kill the whole industry. What a sea change to be invited into the White House and to have the most pro-crypto president ever,” he added. Armstrong also noted that, next, he wants to see legislation passed to help make concrete some of the positive Bitcoin and crypto initiatives set in motion under the Trump administration. “Congress is making really good progress on this with stablecoin and market structure legislation, and hopefully codifying this Strategic Bitcoin Reserve eventually, as well.” This post White House Draws Line Between Bitcoin And Digital Assets At Its First Crypto Summit, In EO first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Frank Corva .
2025-03-08 04:38
Bitcoin Magazine Not Your Keys, Not Your Content: Ownership In A Digital Age Amazon has updated its purchasing terms for Kindle e-books in the United States to clarify that customers are acquiring a license to the content, not ownership. The new statement reads: “ By placing your order, you’re purchasing a license to the content and agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use. ” This update is specific to U.S. customers; international users continue to see the previous wording, but the message is the same: You don’t own it; we are only letting you use it. Starting February 26, 2025, Amazon will discontinue the “ Download & Transfer via USB ” feature for Kindle devices. This means users can no longer download Kindle books directly to their computers for manual transfer, as the access to purchased content will now depend entirely on Amazon’s cloud infrastructure. This change points out a subtle truth about ownership and reinforces a simple fact: It isn’t yours if someone else can take it away. This is not just an Amazon issue but applies to all content and materials in our current digital era. Your favorite songs and albums on your streaming app cannot be accessed without an internet connection. They limit the number of devices you can listen from, and they insert ads unless you pay them a monthly fee. Gone are the days of records, tapes, and CDs having the freedom to listen however you want, resell, or even give it away to a friend. What does it mean to own something? Ownership is typically understood as the act or state of possessing something. In this case, we clearly possess the content, but it can be altered or taken away from us at any time. That is not true ownership. Oxford states ownership is defined as “The exclusive right to use, possess, and dispose of property”. So exclusivity is required in ownership. What about other intangible digital items such as money or identity? You possess your name or handle on social media or email. That is you, it is your online likeness, persona, and content that you created. You cannot have two people with the same name or handle, and that exclusivity is enforced by a password on the account, but that account can be locked, banned, or deleted at any time by the decisions of Facebook or X. What about that money in your bank account? You possess it, and you have legal rights to it, but banks freeze accounts, and governments seize funds all the time. That is not true ownership. So I ask again: What does it mean to own something? It is not enough to possess it; having exclusivity or even legal rights is not enough. To truly own something, you alone must be able to enforce that possession and exclusivity. In the physical world, enforcement largely comes down to coercion and the threat or actual use of violence. The eviction notice from the sheriff’s department, the armed guards in front of a vault, the redrawing of borders after a war. In the digital domain, encryption serves this purpose and, at the same time, removes the need for violence by making force ineffective. It creates ownership that cannot be overridden by violence. No amount of physical force can break strong cryptography. A government can seize a server, and a company can shut down an account, but if data is encrypted and the key is private, the information remains inaccessible. The only way to access encrypted assets is through consent. Encryption doesn’t just protect digital ownership; it changes the very nature of power. It removes violence from the equation. That’s why it’s so disruptive. Digital signing in encrypted systems is how you prove ownership and control in the digital world. PGP lets you sign messages and files, proving they came from you and haven’t been altered. Nostr, a decentralized social media protocol, works the same way. Your posts and identity are tied to your private key , not a company that can ban or delete you. Bitcoin exemplifies this principle. Controlling your private keys means only you can access and manage your funds. When you sign a Bitcoin transaction, only you can access and move your money. No bank can freeze it, no government can seize it without your key. True ownership is about having the power to enforce that ownership. The Bitcoin axiom “Not your keys, not your coins” comes to mind. “Not your keys, not your coins” means if you don’t control the private keys to your Bitcoin, you don’t own it. When you keep Bitcoin on an exchange, the exchange holds the keys, not you. They can freeze your account, limit withdrawals, or even lose your funds. Brokerage accounts and retirement accounts with Bitcoin ETFs can be frozen or seized the same as any bank account. True ownership means holding your keys because only then do you have full control over your money, identity, and property. The shift from physical to digital has made access easier but ownership murky. Whether it’s books, music, identity, or money, just having possession is an illusion of ownership. Companies can revoke access, governments can seize funds, and platforms can erase identities, but encryption changes that. Ownership becomes enforceable, not by laws, a corporation, or an institution, but by math. If you want true digital ownership, the rule is simple: control your keys, or someone else is the true owner. This is a guest post by Will Jager. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine. This post Not Your Keys, Not Your Content: Ownership In A Digital Age first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Will Jager .
2025-03-07 21:17
