Trump Promises to Make US ’World Capital’ of AI, Crypto at Davos

US President Donald Trump pledged to make the country the “world capital of artificial intelligence and crypto” at an annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which was one of his first public appearances since taking office. Speaking virtually from Washington, DC, to an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23, Trump claimed US energy production from oil and gas could be used to “reduce the cost of virtually all goods and services” and make the country a “manufacturing superpower.” 

He said deregulating the energy sector would lead to this outcome but did not provide details. Trump’s comments echoed those he made to the crypto industry during his presidential campaign. At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July 2024, the then-Republican candidate said he planned to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world.”

After taking office on Jan. 20, some in the crypto industry are still questioning whether the US president intends to follow through with many of his promises. His inauguration speech did not include digital assets or blockchain, his administration’s list of policy priorities failed to mention crypto, and he had not issued any executive orders potentially impacting the industry at the time of publication.