The White House is preparing to convene executives from the cryptocurrency and prediction market industries next week, a step that reflects the Trump administration's continued interest in emerging financial technologies. It would be the latest in a series of industry engagements, following a White House crypto summit in March held shortly after the president signed an executive order establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve.

The meeting is expected to take place Wednesday, Aug. 19, according to people familiar with the plans. The attendee list remains unsettled, and executives from traditional finance could also participate. It remains unclear whether President Donald Trump will attend.

Crypto and Prediction Markets Take Center Stage

The gathering comes as Washington weighs major changes to the rules governing digital assets and prediction markets. The administration has taken a broadly supportive stance toward the crypto industry, while regulators have also moved toward greater engagement with prediction market operators. That political standing was strengthened in the 2024 election cycle, when crypto firms spent heavily to back pro-crypto candidates, including through the Fairshake super PAC supported by Coinbase, Ripple, and other industry players.

The timing is notable. The Senate has delayed consideration of the CLARITY Act, a major crypto market-structure bill, until lawmakers return from their August recess. The legislation, which cleared the House with bipartisan support in July, seeks to establish clearer federal rules for digital assets and define the roles of key financial regulators. Its Senate consideration would follow the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law President Trump signed in July, which established federal rules for payment stablecoins.

Meanwhile, prediction markets have attracted growing attention as trading expands beyond political events into areas such as economics, sports, and other real-world outcomes. Kalshi added sports contracts after a federal court rejected the CFTC's attempt to block them, and Polymarket — which settled with the CFTC in 2022 in a deal that restricted its access to US users — has since moved to re-enter the American market through a CFTC-licensed exchange.

CFTC Meeting Adds to Regulatory Focus

The White House gathering will come one day before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission holds the first meeting of its Innovation Advisory Committee in Washington. The committee includes executives and experts from crypto, prediction markets, finance, and technology, and is sponsored by Commissioner Brian Quintenz, who returned to the agency after leading crypto policy at venture firm Andreessen Horowitz. Its agenda is expected to examine how emerging technologies interact with existing financial rules and market structures.

The back-to-back meetings could give industry leaders an important opportunity to press policymakers on regulatory priorities. However, the White House has not publicly confirmed the gathering or released an official attendee list.

The broader backdrop remains uncertain. Crypto companies continue to push for legislation that provides regulatory clarity, while prediction markets face questions surrounding market integrity, consumer protection, and the use of potentially sensitive information. The president's family, meanwhile, has its own crypto ventures, including World Liberty Financial and its USD1 stablecoin, ties that have drawn conflict-of-interest criticism from Democratic lawmakers.

For investors, the meetings underscore how quickly digital assets and prediction markets have moved from niche financial products into mainstream policy discussions in Washington. When the Senate returns in September, the pace of action on the CLARITY Act will offer a clearer signal of whether that legislative momentum holds.