President-elect Donald Trump is planning to release an executive order elevating crypto as a policy priority and giving industry insiders a voice within his administration, according to people familiar with the plans.
The order is expected to name crypto as a national imperative or priority — strategic wording intended to guide government agencies to work with the industry, according to people familiar with the matter. It is also slated to create a crypto advisory council to advocate for the industry’s policy priorities, said the people who requested anonymity to discuss an executive order that is not yet public.
Trump has enjoyed strong support from the crypto industry, which has a powerful presence in Washington, backed by well-funded political action committees. A slew of companies, including Coinbase and Ripple, have donated to Trump’s inaugural committee in recent months. On Friday, days before the inauguration, the industry is hosting an “Inaugural Crypto Ball” in support of Trump.
The executive order would mark a sea change for crypto, which has been a target for investigations during President Joe Biden’s administration following a spate of high-profile fraud cases, including the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange. Federal agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission filed more than 100 enforcement actions against the sector in recent years, and banking regulators made it difficult for crypto companies to work with financial institutions.
Still under discussion for inclusion in the executive order is a directive for all government agencies to review policies about digital assets and possibly pause any litigation involving crypto, the people said. Stopping legal actions that have targeted a range of companies from Binance Holdings Ltd., the world’s biggest crypto exchange, to startup Ripple Labs Inc. is a top priority for the industry.
Also under consideration is the creation of a national Bitcoin stockpile, which would encompass the government’s existing holdings of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, the people said. The US government currently holds nearly $20 billion worth of Bitcoin, confiscated as part of various investigations, according to analytics company Arkham. Bitcoin has rallied almost 50%, to above $100,000, since the November election in part on hopes that such a stockpile would be created. The token more than doubled in price in 2024.
The people cautioned that the executive order, which could come as soon as Monday, is not final and could change before it is made public. A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
Trump has vowed to issue a bevy of executive orders across a range of disparate industries and issues within his first few days back in office.
“What I think Donald Trump is going to do is signal that the United States is back and we are ready to lead in this industry,” said Kara Calvert, vice president for US policy at Coinbase Global Inc., the country’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. “What it’s signaling to other countries is be careful, or you won’t keep up.”
Despite regulatory setbacks under Biden, crypto in the US expanded, with major financial companies including the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock Inc., launching spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds last year. BNY has been working to expand its crypto custody effort, and Cantor Fitzgerald announced plans to launch a Bitcoin financing business.
Trump embraced the crypto industry during the presidential campaign last year. In July, he headlined a Bitcoin conference, where he promised to make the US the crypto capital of the world. Trump-branded collections of nonfungible tokens have been coming out for several years, and last year he and his sons announced a crypto effort called World Liberty Financial, which is supposed to let people earn and borrow crypto, but has yet to provide those services.
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