Trump to Meet Crypto, Prediction-Market Executives Near White House on Aug. 19

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with senior executives from the cryptocurrency and prediction-market industries in Washington on Aug. 19, according to media reports.

The Block reported on Aug. 15 that the meeting is set for 2:30 p.m. Eastern time at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House.

CFTC Chairman Brian Quintenz is also expected to attend. Bloomberg reported that SEC Chairman Paul Atkins is set to join the meeting as well.

People from Coinbase, Ripple, Chainlink, Kalshi, Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz, known as a16z, and the Digital Chamber have been invited, according to the report. Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Digital Assets Advisory Council, is also expected to attend.

The event is being held ahead of the first meeting of the CFTC's Innovation Advisory Committee on Aug. 20. That meeting will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and focus on three areas: cryptocurrency regulation, artificial intelligence and prediction markets.

The committee includes 35 participants, among them Polymarket Chief Executive Officer Shayne Coplan, Kalshi Chief Executive Officer Tarek Mansour and Ripple Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse, as well as representatives from Cboe, CME Group, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. and Nasdaq.

The White House gathering comes as Senate action on the CLARITY Act, a bill to establish a regulatory framework for the US crypto market, has been delayed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune recently set a Sept. 15 cloture vote to begin consideration of the measure. The motion would require 60 votes to pass, and even if it succeeds, the bill itself would still need final Senate approval.

Regulatory authority over prediction markets is also a major issue. The CFTC's Innovation Advisory Committee plans to discuss the respective roles of federal and state governments in overseeing prediction markets, along with recent lawsuits and enforcement actions across the states.

Quintenz has repeatedly argued that the CFTC has jurisdiction over event contracts tied to outcomes such as elections and sports. The agency has also sued multiple states in response to state regulatory actions involving Kalshi and Polymarket. Trump backed that position in May, saying the CFTC's exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets is "very important."

The White House meeting could therefore address not only crypto market-structure legislation, but also the conflict between federal and state authorities over who regulates prediction markets.