For days, crypto bulls waited with bated breath for Donald Trump to make good on his promise to turn the US into the “crypto capital of the planet”.
It finally happened on Thursday when Trump announced the creation of a crypto working group led by White House AI & crypto czar David Sacks. The group will explore creating a national crypto stockpile — similar to how the US holds reserves of gold — and propose a regulatory framework governing digital assets, including stablecoins.
Trump’s executive order also bans the creation of central bank digital currencies, which crypto enthusiasts say could lead to increased government surveillance and compete with other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Trump, who was flanked by Sacks while he signed the long-awaited executive order on Thursday, said: “We’re going to make a lot of money for the country.”
According to crypto data platform Arkham Intelligence, the US government has about $21 billion worth of crypto assets, including 198,000 Bitcoin and 54,700 Ether.
Bitcoin, which had soared to a record high of $109,071 on Monday when Trump entered the White House, remained flat at around $103,621 as of 8.45 a.m. Friday in Singapore. It had risen to $106,000 in the hours building up to the signing.
Read more: Trump’s big on crypto. Should you believe him?
Ctrl+Z
Crypto policies from the Biden administration will be undone, which the order said “suppressed innovation and undermined US economic liberty and global leadership in digital finance.”
Previous policies had pushed firms out of the US while banking regulators shut crypto firms out of the financial system.
The working group, which has 12 people in total, will also include the Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, and chairs of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Besides holding public hearings and working with external crypto experts, the group is also expected to coordinate with the SEC, which created its own crypto task force on Jan 21. The US markets regulator’s plan for the crypto sector includes paths to registration, disclosure frameworks, and enforcement resources.
Read more: Party pooper: Trump’s memecoin just brought back crypto’s worst fears
What’s next?
The Treasury Department, Justice Department and other agencies within the US government will review their policies that affect the crypto sector within 30 days.
The White House crypto working group will then submit a report to Trump within 180 days, which will propose a legal framework for the issuance and operation of crypto, including stablecoins, and details of the national crypto stockpile.
Trump’s latest move makes good on his earlier crypto promises, which Steven Pu, co-founder of Taraxa blockchain, says will help the US economy.
“Much of the crypto economic upside in the US could be captured simply with the government stopping its persecution of American crypto innovators,” he adds.
Edited by Victor Loh. If you have any tips, ideas or feedback, please get in touch: talk-to-us@moniify.com
