Eve of Power Restructuring: Political Signals from Davos and the Crypto Industry's Steadfastness

Original Author: Sandy Carter, Forbes

Original Compilation: Saoirse, Foresight News

Donald Trump speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2020. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP

Donald Trump is heading to Davos next week.

The World Economic Forum convenes at a critical juncture where technology, policy, national competitiveness, and financial infrastructure are colliding and intertwining. This appearance will be Trump's first in-person visit to Davos in six years. Concurrently, the organizers have stated that this year's forum will feature the largest-ever U.S. delegation, including senior U.S. cabinet officials and a large contingent of major American corporations.

This year also marks the official return of the U.S. House to Davos. This U.S.-centric physical venue will serve as a key hub for policy discussions and business exchanges for the United States locally. I am honored to have been invited to speak at the U.S. House this year. This move fully demonstrates that both the U.S. government and American businesses attach great importance to the 2026 Davos Forum, viewing it as a crucial platform to exert influence and exchange core ideas.

Notably, just before the Davos Forum, one of the most influential executives in the cryptocurrency space, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, declined to support a proposed cryptocurrency bill—despite widespread political interest in advancing the legislation this year. These two events together reveal a profound shift in the interaction patterns between power, policy, technology, and cryptocurrency.

Trump Aims to Elevate Davos from 'Idea Discussion' to 'Institution Building'

Having attended the Davos Forum multiple times, this year's forum feels distinctly different in both tone and substance. With the attendance of heads of state, cabinet officials, and hundreds of corporate CEOs, the core agenda has shifted towards infrastructure-level decision-making. This year's forum is expected to attract approximately 3,000 participants from 130 countries, with a record number of political leaders and corporate CEOs.

The changes in the field of artificial intelligence are particularly striking. Next week's agenda at the Davos 'AI House' exemplifies this shift—positioning AI as 'shared infrastructure' and focusing discussions on core issues such as 'Power and Responsibility,' 'Governance at Scale,' and 'how intelligent systems should augment rather than replace human decision-making.'

AI is no longer seen as an 'emerging technology' but as infrastructure as critical as energy, supply chains, and national competitiveness. Judging from the topics at the 'Agent AI House,' as intelligent technology extends from the 'tool level' to the 'decision-making system level,' governance issues such as 'trust, accountability, and control' triggered by autonomous AI agents will become a focal point of discussion. Today, policymakers discuss 'computing power and AI access' with an intensity comparable to past concerns over 'oil resources.'

Corporate executives are focusing their discussions on 'how to future-proof organizations built for different economic eras.' In this context, 'system durability' far outweighs 'development speed,' and the core question has become 'which systems will remain critical a decade from now.'

'Systems Thinking' Also Applies to Digital Finance

This 'systems thinking' is increasingly permeating the field of digital finance.

Today, stablecoins settle tens of billions of dollars in transactions daily, particularly in cross-border payments and treasury management. Simultaneously, 'tokenization' is quietly penetrating capital markets, extending from fund products to various real-world assets.

Cryptocurrency has officially moved from the 'experimental phase' into the 'financial infrastructure domain.' In 2025, the Davos Web3 Hub signed the 'Web3 Davos Manifesto,' explicitly endorsing the four core principles of 'Responsible Innovation, Sustainable Development, Accountability, and Trust,' and will further strengthen the dissemination and implementation of this concept in 2026.

Trump's Core Signals on 'Power and Digital Finance'

Trump's appearance in Davos injects political influence into this transformation process. His economic stance has long revolved around 'sovereignty, influence, and competitiveness,' and cryptocurrency sits precisely at the intersection of these three dimensions.

On one hand, digital assets promise 'faster settlement speeds, new models of capital formation, and efficiency gains,' aligning closely with a 'pro-growth' policy agenda. On the other hand, digital assets also raise concerns in areas such as 'sanctions enforcement, financial regulation, and the long-term status of the U.S. dollar.' While Davos is not a 'legislative venue,' it is a key platform for 'signaling policy priorities'—the positioning and interpretation of cryptocurrency at the forum will significantly impact markets and regulators.

The return of the U.S. House further confirms this: the United States does not view Davos as a 'neutral backdrop' but rather uses it as a strategic platform to 'shape the narratives around technology, capital, and influence.'

Brian Armstrong's 'Opposition Stance'

Against this backdrop, as reported by Reuters, Armstrong's refusal to support the cryptocurrency bill reflects the industry's maturation. The passage of the CLARITY Act fundamentally altered the industry's expectations for regulation. For nearly a decade, leaders in the crypto space have argued that 'any clear regulation is better than no regulation.' Now, as industry risks escalate, this stance has changed.

Brian Armstrong clearly expressed opposition to cryptocurrency legislation. (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

Armstrong's concerns can be summarized into three core points:

1. The bill would 'artificially pick winners and losers': It clearly favors large incumbent firms and centralized intermediaries, potentially excluding startups and open networks that drive industry innovation.
2. It increases compliance burdens without enhancing clarity: The bill fails to clearly define the rules for operating crypto products. Instead, it adds a series of new obligations, potentially increasing legal uncertainty and risk rather than reducing it.
3. It undermines the core advantage of 'decentralization': Key provisions in the bill would push the crypto ecosystem towards a 'highly centralized' direction, damaging the 'resilient architecture' and 'global interoperability' that cryptocurrencies rely on, potentially leading to innovation drain or creating long-term market concentration risks.

Armstrong's position is not 'simply anti-regulation' but rather 'emphasizes the scientific rigor and precision of regulation.' As cryptocurrency becomes core infrastructure, poorly designed regulatory policies could lead to issues like 'entrenching fragile systems,' 'innovation drain,' or 'long-term concentration risks.'

Trump, Armstrong, and the 'Battle for the Economic Rulebook'

There is a direct connection between Trump's trip to Davos and Armstrong's rejection of the bill: Trump seeks to use the Davos Forum to signal 'U.S. competitive strategy in a technology-driven global economy'; while Armstrong uses the legislative process to resist unreasonable rules that 'could prematurely lock in the future shape of digital finance.'

Today, the core of this field is no longer 'hype or experimentation,' but rather 'who controls the core systems upon which economies operate.' The current key issue is 'how to control the foundational rules governing the modern economy'—with Trump heading to Davos, this battle has fully entered the political arena.