U.S. President Donald Trump drew attention for not using the words cryptocurrency or digital assets even once at a White House cybercrime roundtable that highlighted large-scale online fraud losses and the government’s response. The event, where a crackdown on foreign-linked cryptocurrency fraud was cited as a key agenda item, also brought renewed focus to conflict-of-interest controversy surrounding the president’s family’s crypto businesses.

Cointelegraph, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Oct. 21 that Trump referred during the meeting to assets linked to fraud as “cybercurrency.” He did not directly mention “cryptocurrency” or “digital assets,” terms widely used in the crypto industry. Attorney General Todd Blanche also did not use those terms, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin used the phrase “digital extortion.”

Trump said Americans suffered losses of more than $20 billion in 2025 from impersonation scams, ransomware attacks and scam call centers. He also said federal authorities froze $1 billion in “cybercurrency” linked to foreign scam groups. He said an executive order issued in March prevented losses of $1.6 billion that could have flowed to cybercrime groups.

The meeting took place amid expectations that a crackdown on foreign-linked cryptocurrency scam groups would be a main agenda item. But as key participants did not directly mention cryptocurrency, attention focused on how the White House views crimes related to digital assets. The White House did not provide a separate explanation of the terms used at the meeting or the focus of the discussions.

The FBI has tallied that Americans lost $11 billion in 2025 to scams related only to digital assets. That figure included losses tied to cryptocurrency automated teller machines. Separate from overall online fraud losses, crimes related to digital assets are also cited as a key task U.S. authorities must address.

Another reason the meeting drew attention is that Trump and his family are involved in multiple cryptocurrency ventures. Trump reported net profit of $1.4 billion from related businesses in 2025. Public-interest group Public Citizen, however, claimed that related Trump businesses and plans caused investors losses of about $4.7 billion. It said this was its claim and does not mean the loss amount is confirmed.

The Trump family’s cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial is also at the center of controversy. The company’s stablecoin USD1 was used to settle a $2 billion investment deal that an entity linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates made with Binance. The deal led to scrutiny and controversy over possible conflicts of interest and other issues.

Trump’s memecoin project Official Trump (TRUMP) has also continued to draw debate. The project plans to hold another dinner event for token holders on Nov. 22. Similar events in the past drew criticism from lawmakers and interest groups because they linked holding the token to opportunities to meet or gain access to the president. Critics said it was a so-called pay-to-play approach that provides political access in exchange for money.

Investigations into crimes using cryptocurrency are also continuing outside the United States. Just before the meeting, reports said Italian investigators arrested 30 people on suspicion of laundering millions of dollars using cryptocurrency. Investigators are examining indications that funds from corporate fraud, crypto investment scams and drug trafficking moved to digital wallets through a bank identified as linked to the mafia.

As the U.S. government expands crackdowns on foreign-linked scam groups and money laundering, attention is also on what terminology and policies the White House will use to address cryptocurrency-related crimes. With conflict-of-interest controversy surrounding the Trump family’s crypto businesses continuing, scrutiny is also expected to continue over the effectiveness of crime-response policies and the consistency of the government’s approach.