Trump plans to designate cryptocurrency as a national priority

WASHINGTON – US 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.

That would be 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, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, to start-up Ripple Labs, 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 US$20 billion (S$27.33 billion) worth of Bitcoin, confiscated as part of various investigations, according to analytics company Arkham.

Bitcoin has rallied almost 50 per cent, to above US$100,000, since the November 2024 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 Jan 20, is not final and could change before it is made public.

A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for 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 Ms Kara Calvert, vice-president for US policy at Coinbase Global, the country’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. “What it’s signalling to other countries is: Be careful, or you won’t keep up.”

Despite regulatory setbacks under Mr Biden, crypto in the US expanded, with major financial companies including the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, launching spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds in 2024.

Bank of New York Mellon Corporation 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 in 2024.

In July 2024, he headlined a Bitcoin conference, where he promised to

make the US the crypto capital of the world

.

Trump-branded collections of non-fungible tokens have been coming out for several years, and in 2024 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.

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 Jan 17, days before the inauguration, the industry is hosting an “Inaugural Crypto Ball” in support of Trump. BLOOMBERG