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 White House later released the executive order which included details about stablecoins, self custody and banking. The executive order also released a detail on a potential "stockpile" and said it could come "from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement efforts."

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 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.


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© 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.

About Authors

Adam is the managing editor for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He is based in central Europe and was a managing editor and podcast host at the crypto exchange OKX's former research arm, OKX Insights. Before that, he co-founded BeInCrypto.com, which he elevated into one of the leading crypto media brands at its peak as the editor-in-chief. Earlier, he served as the editor-in-chief at Bitcoinist.com. Before joining the blockchain and crypto industry, he worked for Looper.com, Grunge.com and SVG.com. He tweets via @XBT002 and can be emailed at [email protected].
James Hunt is a reporter at The Block and writer of The Daily newsletter, keeping you up to speed on the latest crypto news every weekday. Prior to joining The Block in 2022, James spent four years as a freelance writer in the industry, contributing to both publications and crypto project content. James’ coverage spans everything from Bitcoin and Ethereum to Layer 2 scaling solutions, avant-garde DeFi protocols, evolving DAO governance structures, trending NFTs and memecoins, regulatory landscapes, crypto company deals and the latest market updates. You can get in touch with James on Telegram or 𝕏 via @humanjets or email him at [email protected].
Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.

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