President Donald Trump signed an executive action Thursday that satisfies two promises he made to the cryptocurrency world.
The order creates a presidential group to coordinate the establishment of clear regulation for the digital assets industry and prohibited the creation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
What it didn’t authorize was the immediate creation of a “strategic national bitcoin stockpile,” as Trump also promised during the 2024 campaign.
Instead, it directs the new working group to evaluate “the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile,” as well as proposing “criteria for establishing such a stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement efforts.”
That potentially widens the scope of what crypto the government may hold in this stockpile beyond just bitcoin.
Trump also revoked a March 2022 executive order from President Joe Biden that called for a study by various government agencies of crypto assets and encouraged all agencies to “take strong steps to reduce the risks that digital assets could pose.”
Bitcoin (BTC) rose slightly after Trump signed the executive action and then fell. It was marginally higher for the last 24 hours after hitting a fresh all-time high early Monday ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
Some in the crypto market may have been hoping for more, according to Sean Farrell, head of digital assets for Fundstrat.
“What was issued today, I guess, was priced in,” Farrell told Yahoo Finance.
Still, he added, the president’s pro-crypto stance is “huge” for the industry’s future.
Last year, Trump pledged to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.” Last Friday, Trump’s team launched an official meme coin for the incoming 47th president (TRUMP), along with one for first lady Melania Trump (MELANIA) on the Solana blockchain. They began trading Sunday.
On Thursday, he reiterated his support for the industry during a virtual speech at the World Economic Forum, saying he planned to make the US “the world capital of artificial intelligence and crypto.”
The presidential working group will work to develop a federal regulatory framework for crypto markets. The group will be chaired by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and include the treasury secretary, SEC chair, and other various financial regulatory heads.
That working group will include identification of all regulations, guidance documents, and orders that affect crypto within 30 days by various government agencies and recommendations with respect to each of those items within 60 days.
Additionally, within 180 days, the working group will submit a report to the president with regulatory and legislative proposals and recommendations.
“The administration is making a significant first step toward writing clear, consistent rules of the road,” Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley said in emailed comments.
“We look forward to engaging with the president’s working group as Washington works to get it right on crypto,” McCauley added.
Other regulatory developments for the crypto world are already materializing due to the Trump administration’s stance on the industry. On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission rescinded a piece of accounting guidance known as SAB 121 that posed a significant roadblock for banks and broker-dealers seeking to hold crypto in custody for clients.
Earlier this week, Coinbase Global (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong told Yahoo Finance Trump should create a strategic bitcoin reserve given that it already has a gold reserve.
“The world is moving to a bitcoin standard for money. Any government who holds gold should also hold bitcoin as a reserve,” Armstrong said.
Trump can likely order the US government to cease selling the cryptocurrency it has lawfully claimed through seizures and forfeitures that proponents have argued could help stabilize the US economy, strengthen the US dollar, and even eventually help pay down some of the $35 trillion in national debt.
But further steps actually calling for the government to purchase more crypto — as proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis — may likely need congressional approval.
