President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to bolster the cryptocurrency market and create a working group to develop a comprehensive plan including “regulatory and legislative proposals” for digital assets.
The order, issued the evening of Jan. 23, aims to promote access and use of public blockchain networks, developing and deploying blockchain-related software, participation in mining and validation, and uncensored transactions.
It also seeks to expand the use of U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins “worldwide.” A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency where the value of the digital asset is tied to a reference asset.
“The digital asset industry plays a crucial role in innovation and economic development in the United States, as well as our Nation’s international leadership,” reads the first executive order. “It is therefore the policy of my Administration to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy.”
Regulatory frameworks established by the EO would be “technology-neutral regulations,” according to the document, and would implement clear rules and transparency through the president’s commitment to “protecting and promoting” the cryptocurrency industry.
Legislators have long pushed for crypto regulation with the industry overall receiving little attention from Congress. Last spring, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said they wanted to create a regulatory framework to oversee digital assets, after introducing regulatory legislation for digital assets to the Senate in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, the same pair of senators introduced more narrow legislation to regulate stablecoins.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced legislation last year to harness blockchain technology for border security operations. Blockchains are secure, distributed digital ledgers that record transactions transparently, managed collectively by their users.
“Assessing blockchain technology and Congress can sometimes feel like you’re watching paint dry,” Rep. Mace said last year at the Blockchain Summit 2024 in Washington. “For some of my colleagues, the very word blockchain is too futuristic. It’s like flying a flying car for them.”
Trump’s crypto EO looks beyond the private cryptocurrency industry by prohibiting central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) – government-backed, digital versions of a country’s currency – which the Trump administration said could “threaten the stability of the financial system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States.”
CBDCs have historically been opposed by crypto enthusiasts, with Trump making vows on his campaign trail to prohibit them.
The working group, detailed in a fact sheet accompanying the EO, will be tasked with developing regulatory frameworks to oversee the cryptocurrency industry and will evaluate creating a “strategic national digital assets stockpile” – which would become a government-controlled stash of digital coins.
Cryptocurrency enthusiast David Sacks – the White House AI and crypto czar, appointed by Trump last month – will chair the working group, with members including the Treasury secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, and heads of other “relevant departments and agencies.”
The fact sheet also set a timeline for the working group to oversee agencies in identifying digital asset regulations within 30 days, submit change recommendations within 60 days, and deliver a full report with regulatory and legislative proposals to the White House within 180 days.
The EO follows Trump’s announcement last week where he launched a memecoin called $Trump, sparking immediate sales of the cryptocurrency. First Lady Melania Trump also announced that she would be offering a memecoin. Memecoin is cryptocurrency typically derived from internet trends.
According to Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain intelligence firm, the U.S. government holds nearly $21.5 billion worth of crypto assets, mostly Bitcoin. After the election in November, Bitcoin spiked by 40 percent as investors anticipated a crypto-friendly administration. This late-year rally followed a tough period for the industry, marked by the collapse of major crypto firms, shortly after the cryptocurrency hit an all-time high.
