‘Crypto’ stayed off-menu as Trump’s cybercrime roundtable tackled more than $20 billion in losses

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a White House roundtable on cybercrime on Wednesday without mentioning “crypto,” even as he and members of his administration face scrutiny from lawmakers and voters over accusations that they used their positions to enrich themselves with digital assets. The event featured Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Neither Trump nor Blanche explicitly used the term “cryptocurrency” or “digital assets,” despite reports indicating that cracking down on foreign crypto scams would be the focus of the roundtable. Trump used the dated term “cybercurrency,” while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin referred only to “digital extortion.” Trump said “countless” Americans lost more than $20 billion from cybercrime in 2025 through impersonation schemes, ransomware attacks, scam centers and other methods.

The president added that federal officials had frozen $1 billion in “cybercurrency tied to foreign scammers” and prevented $1.6 billion in losses in 2025 from going to criminals engaging in cybercrime following a March executive order. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that Americans had lost $11 billion from scams in 2025 specifically related to digital assets, including through crypto ATMs. Cointelegraph reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

The president and his family are tied to several crypto ventures that Trump reported netted him $1.4 billion in 2025, while his alleged “schemes” cost investors about $4.7 billion, according to a Public Citizen report. World Liberty Financial also faces scrutiny over its USD1 stablecoin being used to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance by an entity tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates.

Official Trump (TRUMP) is hosting another dinner for tokenholders on Nov. 22. Similar events organized by the team behind the memecoin have prompted accusations from lawmakers and interest groups that Trump is selling access to the presidency through “pay-to-play” schemes.

The White House roundtable followed reports that Italian authorities had arrested 30 people for using crypto to launder millions of dollars through a bank allegedly tied to the mafia. Bloomberg reported that Italy’s police were investigating a criminal network that sent money from corporate fraud, crypto investment scams and drug trafficking to digital wallets.