Donald Trump: “I will stop Joe Biden’s crusade to crush crypto”
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President Donald Trump will establish a working group to guide and implement his administration’s policy around cryptocurrencies, blockchain and digital assets.

In an executive order, the newly-inaugurated US President has clarified several policies around crypto. As expected, the policies include a clampdown on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and support for privately held cryptocurrencies.

“The digital asset industry plays a crucial role in innovation and economic development in the US, as well as our nation’s international leadership,” Trump’s statement read.

“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.”

No huge surprises

Trump’s working group has been tasked with achieving several objectives. A notable goal includes an evaluation of a potential national digital asset stockpile, which could potentially be derived from cryptocurrencies seized by the federal government in law enforcement actions.

The US Marshals Service (USMS) is the main law enforcement agency responsible for the confiscation of cryptocurrency, largely Bitcoin, used in alleged criminal activity. As it stands, the federal government has seized over $1bn in cryptocurrency.

Donald Trump
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A stockpile has been a widely anticipated Trump 2.0 administration crypto policy. Speculation that Ripple’s XRP could be included in such a stockpile led to extensive trading of the coin over the past few weeks. For now, though, it is not clear which coins other than Bitcoin would be included in a stockpile.

In a more general sense, the working group has been told to propose a federal regulatory framework around the operation of digital assets and stablecoins. This framework will have to consider market structure, oversight, consumer protection and risk management.

The group has 180 days to report back to Trump on these two objectives via the Assistant to the President for National Economic Policy (APEP), Robin Colwell (Acting). Another deadline gives all agencies involved in the group 60 days to submit recommendations for crypto regulations.

A third deadline gives the Treasury, Justice Department, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other agencies 30 days to identify regulations affecting the US digital asset sector.

The working group will include the Secretary of the Treasury, David Lebryk; Attorney General; Pam Bondi; Secretary of Commerce; Jeremy Pelter; Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem; Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Caroline Pham; and SEC Chair, Mark T. Uyeda.

It is important to note that the above mentioned individuals fill the positions in an Acting capacity, due to their nominations having yet to be confirmed by the US Senate.

No compromise on CBDCs

In yet another unsurprising move, Trump’s working group has been tasked with ‘taking measures to protect Americans from the risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)’ including prohibiting the possibility of a ‘digital dollar’.

The administration asserts that CBDCs ‘threaten the stability of the financial system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty’ of the US. Trump has made his disdain for CBDCs clear on a number of occasions over the past couple of years.

In an interview with FOX last year, nine months before his election victory in November 2024, the outspoken politician said: “If I am the president, on day one, we will nix central bank digital currency. Done. Dead. Not happening in this country.”

Doubling down on this sentiment in his latest announcement, Trump has barred any federal agency from moving to establish, issue or promote CBDCs either in the US or abroad. Any plans to create a CBDC in the US ‘shall be immediately terminated’, he added.

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In contrast to other jurisdictions like the UK and EU, the US is less advanced on CBDCs.

The Federal Reserve has certainly entertained the idea of a digital dollar, but in March last year its Chairman, Jerome Powell, stated that a US CBDC was not ‘remotely close to happening anytime soon’ – and by the looks of things this is now cemented for at least four more years.

In contrast to CBDCs, Trump is more receptive to stablecoins. The President has set his working group the job of promoting and protecting the sovereignty of the US dollar including the development of ‘legitimate dollar-backed stablecoins worldwide’.

This is good news for the likes of PayPal and Ripple with their respective PayPal USD and RLUSD stablecoins. It may also give confidence to the likes of Revolut, which reportedly has ambitions for a Euro-backed stablecoin, and so may see the support for stablecoins from the world’s largest economy as indicative of the sector’s long-term sustainability.