President Trump tasks working group to evaluate creation of national crypto reserve

Quick Take
- The group will work on developing a federal regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins and work to evaluate the creation of a “strategic national digital assets stockpile.”


President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a "Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets" according to Fox Business. That working group will work on developing a federal regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins and work to evaluate the creation of a "strategic national digital assets stockpile."
The working group will be chaired by Trump-tapped crypto czar David Sacks and include the Treasury Secretary, according to Fox. Trump picked hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to lead Treasury and he is awaiting a Senate floor vote. He has spoken positively about crypto. Bessent told Fox Business in July he was "excited about the president's embrace of crypto.
The working group will include the Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, Commerce Secretary, Homeland Security Secretary, and chairs of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, among others. That group will be tasked with submitting a set of recommendations that determines whether current rules and regulations affecting digital assets should be changed.
“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,” the Trump administration said. “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.”
The executive order also calls for the protection of individuals to be able to use “for lawful purposes open public blockchain networks without persecution.” That includes mining, validating and self custody of crypto, the administration added.
The Trump administration also said it would protect and promote “fair and open access to banking services.”
Crypto firms have complained for years about the difficulty of establishing and maintaining bank accounts in the U.S. Lately, crypto debanking has become a hot-button issue in Washington D.C. following a lawsuit lodged against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation by Coinbase and lawmakers jumping into the debate.
The executive order also looks to ban the use of a central bank digital currency in the U.S. The Federal Reserve has been exploring the possibility of a CBDC and released a report in 2022 examining the pros and cons of a CBDC, but central bank officials have thrown cold water on the idea in the past and some Fed officials have made it clear that the central bank won't issue a CBDC without congressional approval.
'National policy priority'
President Trump's apparent plans to issue an executive order making crypto a “national policy priority” had been well-reported on, as was his promise to create such a reserve and "protect" Bitcoin from longtime crypto opponent Elizabeth Warren "and her goons."
There was debate over whether an executive order would simply create a national bitcoin stockpile based on existing funds seized from criminal activity over the years versus establishing a more substantial reserve that would buy more bitcoin over time. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) previously introduced draft legislation for a U.S. national bitcoin reserve with a goal of buying 1 million BTC ($108 billion) using government funds over the next five years. The U.S. is currently the largest known nation-state holder of bitcoin, with seizures amounting to 198,109 BTC (approximately $21 billion).
More recently, President Trump was reportedly receptive to the idea of establishing an “America-first” strategic reserve that prioritizes coins founded in the U.S., such as USDC, SOL and XRP. Leading up to the inauguration, unsubstantiated rumors circulated on social media claiming that a draft of Trump's inauguration speech featuring a bitcoin strategic reserve announcement leaked. The foremost cryptocurrency subsequently surged to a new all-time high of more than $109,000 earlier on Monday, according to The Block's Bitcoin Price Page.
Trump’s campaign promises also included appointing a more crypto-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, commuting Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht's life sentence, establishing a Crypto Presidential Advisory Council, repealing SAB 121, ending “Operation Choke Point 2.0” and turning the U.S. into a bitcoin mining “powerhouse.”
Trump's memecoin launch
The news follows the high-profile and controversial launch of President Trump's official memecoin amid the inaugural Crypto Ball in Washington on Friday night. The TRUMP token subsequently surged to a market cap of around $15 billion, per The Block's Official Trump Price Page, becoming the fastest-growing memecoin in history — reaching a fully diluted value of more than $75 billion the same weekend it launched. TRUMP was followed up by the launch of MELANIA, an official memecoin of First Lady Melania Trump.
The memecoins were launched on Solana, causing many, at the time, to consider it an endorsement of the Layer 1 over rival Ethereum. The price of SOL hit a new all-time high off the back of President Trump's memecoin while ether saw declines. However, the news that the Trump-backed decentralized finance platform World Liberty Financial purchased more ether helped bolster Ethereum's native asset. World Liberty Financial also now owns ENS domains worldliberty.eth, trumpcoin.eth, erictrump.eth and barrontrump.eth.
Updated at 4:07 p.m. EST to include additional details.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.