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President Trump signed an executive order Thursday promoting U.S. leadership in digital assets and establishing a working group that would be charged with proposing regulations for the crypto industry.
The news sent prices for popular cryptocurrencies higher in Friday trading. Bitcoin was up more than 1.5 percent to $105,880, while Ethereum climbed nearly 5 percent to $3,397.
Here’s what else investors should know about Trump’s executive order.
Crypto executive order: What to know
Trump signed an executive order designed to promote U.S. leadership in digital assets and financial technology.
Here are key initiatives included in the order:
- The Trump administration’s policy will be to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology and related technologies.
- It establishes a working group on digital asset markets that will be chaired by the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto.
- A working group will evaluate the potential creation of a digital asset stockpile, possibly from cryptocurrencies seized by the federal government through law enforcement efforts.
- Within 180 days of the order, the working group should recommend regulatory and legislative proposals for the digital asset industry.
- The order terminates any ongoing plans to create a central bank digital currency.
- It aims to protect and promote fair and open access to banking services for all law-abiding individuals and private entities.
Trump drew huge backing from the crypto industry during the 2024 presidential election and crypto prices surged following his election victory on the expectation that he would appoint crypto-friendly regulators to key posts.
Just days before his inauguration, he launched a $TRUMP meme coin that initially soared in value. First Lady Melania Trump also launched a meme coin that surged upon launch. The $TRUMP coin is down 56 percent from its high, while the $MELANIA coin has fallen 81 percent from its high.
Crypto industry watchers aren’t optimistic that the executive order will lead to regulations that help rid the industry of its many bad actors.
“Any crypto regulation should actually protect investors rather than defending the ability of cryptocurrency issuers to stuff the public with another useless digital currency,” says James Royal, Bankrate principal investment and wealth management reporter. “Given the crypto industry’s sizable donations to the Trump campaign and the Trump family’s own personal stake in newly launched cryptocurrencies, I’m not optimistic that any regulation proposed here will do much more than pave the way for legalized scams.”
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