President Donald Trump signed a crypto-related executive order on Thursday, laying the groundwork to formally establish a presidential task force on digital asset markets and review some of his campaign promises.
The president's task force advises Trump on issues related to crypto policy and informs his decision-making regarding the industry. Trump previously announced that the team would be led by Silicon Valley venture capitalist David Sachs, the White House's first-ever “AI and crypto czar.”
The day-to-day operations are run by Bo Hines, a one-time Republican congressional candidate and former college football player. The group includes the Treasury Secretary, SEC and CFTC officials, and other department and agency leaders.
As Decrypt previously reported, the council is expected to consist of 20 crypto founders and CEOs. Industry donors to Trump's presidential campaign — and possibly his first fund — could be prioritized. The group has no real authority to make its own decisions, other than to advise Trump and Congress.
The executive order, titled “Strengthening America's Leadership in Digital Financial Technology,” will task the group with examining the precedent for a “strategic national digital assets stockpile,” following Trump's campaign trail pledge to establish a Bitcoin national reserve.
Such an idea was added in the Senate through Senator Cynthia Lummis' Bitcoin law, and several states are considering their own Bitcoin reserve law. However, the executive order does not mention Bitcoin by name or any other specific crypto assets.
Additionally, the order suggests that agencies are barred from issuing central bank digital currencies, or CBCCs, which are often referred to as “digital dollars.” These centralized cryptocurrencies have been widely derided by Republicans because of privacy concerns.
It also aims to “protect and promote” the rights of American companies and citizens to trade and self-regulate, verify my crypto and blockchain transactions, and launch blockchain software.
Trump is also expected to follow up this first crypto-related executive order with many more. A priority for the industry is the repeal of the SEC's SAB 121 regulation, which prohibits US banks from holding crypto. Congress repealed SAB 121 last spring, but former President Joe Biden vetoed the bill, leaving the law in place.
Trump was able to repeal SAB 121 by executive order, and is widely expected to do so.
Other crypto policies that Trump may address in future executive orders include eliminating the SEC's controversial exchange rule that targets decentralized finance projects and directing federal agencies, including the State Department, to make encouraging crypto innovation a national priority.
However, with or without executive orders, the Trump administration has made a head start when it comes to crypto. On Tuesday, the SEC established a new crypto task force led by emphatically pro-industry commissioner Hester Peirce.
The task force aims to create “smart disclosure frameworks” that would allow crypto projects and companies to legally register if needed. Doing so would end the SEC's longstanding policy of effectively regulating the industry through enforcement, which has brought uncertainty to the sector and driven many firms out of the country.
Editor's note: This story was expanded with more detail after publication.
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