Virginia Canter on White House Crypto Meeting: “The White House Is not Tammany Hall”
August 19, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The following is a statement from Virginia Canter, chief counsel and director of ethics and anti-corruption at Democracy Defenders Fund, on the Trump administration’s tech and innovation meeting that hosted crypto company CEOs at the White House today:
“In 2025, President Trump made more than $1.4 billion from his crypto ventures while ordinary investors lost billions on those same ventures. Today, the President hosted a handful of crypto executives at the White House, some of whom head companies that do business with World Liberty Financial. Notably absent? The almost 1 million investors who lost nearly $3.8 billion on Trump’s meme coin.
“The goal of the financial regulatory system is to protect consumers from fraud and to ensure that companies operate in a fair and responsible way. The president has shoved aside these goals as he relentlessly courts the cryptocurrency industry. This is reflected in the SEC’s recent proposal to exempt cryptocurrency from regulation, and the OCC’s provision of a national bank charter to World Liberty. And now the White House apparently has become a meeting place for crypto bosses and national exchanges.
“The White House is not Tammany Hall but today it sure looked like it. What is good for cryptocurrency special interests may not be good for the country. If President Trump is truly interested in proper regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, he should start by having a conversation with one of the thousands of Americans who were subject to crypto fraud last year, not holding a closed-door session with elite crypto financiers.”
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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.
For media inquiries, contact press@democracydefenders.org.
