WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump, a former crypto-skeptic, said he was committed to making the United States a world leader in cryptocurrencies during the first-ever White House Crypto Summit on Friday.

The summit included crypto company executives, cabinet officials and lawmakers, many of whom took turns raving about Trump's leadership on digital assets. The emboldened industry said it was unfairly treated by the Biden administration and helped Trump and other Republicans score wins in the last election.

A day before the summit in Washington, D.C., Trump signed an executive order establishing a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve."

Dig deeper:

The reserve would essentially bar the U.S. government from selling bitcoin it has acquired through criminal and civil asset forfeiture.

The U.S. government currently has about $17 billion in bitcoin.

The order also allows the Treasury and Commerce Departments to come up with "budget-neutral" plans for the government to acquire additional bitcoin, though no details of what those plans might look like have been released.

The order is a significant boost for bitcoin's credibility and legitimacy. The oldest and most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin has gone from an experiment by libertarian cryptography enthusiasts to an asset worth $1.7 trillion in less than two decades.

Trump's foray into crypto has included backing a personal meme coin and other ventures to enrich himself and his family. Those moves have drawn swift criticism from Democrats and even some crypto enthusiasts who support Trump.

What they're saying:

David Sacks, the Trump administration's "crypto czar," told reporters Friday that Trump's personal crypto-related projects were "irrelevant" to the administration's work related to the industry.

That work, Sacks said, was focused on making the U.S. the world capital in crypto through fair and clear regulations that promote innovation while still protecting investors.

Dig deeper:

Trump's order also creates a "Digital Asset Stockpile," where the government will hold seized cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin.

The backstory:

On Sunday, Trump sent crypto prices on a short-lived surge after a surprise announcement that he wanted the government to hold lesser-known cryptocurrencies XRP, solana and cardano.

It's unclear why Trump named those specific cryptocurrencies and not others. His announcement caused a stir in the crypto community about whether the government would pick winners and losers among various types of cryptocurrencies.