The wheels are already starting to turn on Donald Trump’s plan to make the United States the ‘country’crypto capital of the planet» following his return to the White House.
In a decree signed on Thursday, Trump created a “digital asset markets working group,” which will be tasked with evaluating the possibility of the United States establishing a “strategic national stockpile of digital assets,” among other things.
The promise to establish a stock was one of several commitments Trump made to the crypto industry ahead of his re-election. Even if the idea perplexed economistshe received a delighted welcome among bitcoiners. As rumors of an imminent announcement spread out on Thursday, the price of bitcoin climbed to $105,000 per coinjust below the record.
The order will also require the task force, which will include leaders of various government branches, financial regulators, and the attorney general, to propose an appropriate set of regulations and laws governing the use of crypto.
Earlier in the week, on Trump’s second day in office, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. regulator that introduced a volley of trial against crypto companies under the Joe Biden administration—established a “cryptography working group”. Under new leadership following the departure of former president Gary Gensler, who was largely demonized in the cryptospherethe SEC will develop a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets,” the agency said.
Later the same day, Trump granted clemency to Ross Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for crimes committed while running the infamous darknet marketplace Silk Road, one of the first websites to accept bitcoin as payment. After being arrested in 2013, Ulbricht became something of a martyr in crypto circles for his role in spreading the Bitcoin gospel.
These first gestures demonstrate Trump’s desire to follow through previous campaign promises: pass various crypto-related laws, reform the financial regulatory apparatus in the United States, and make crypto part of the US national treasury. According to crypto figures, the effects will be far-reaching, reverberating far beyond U.S. shores, and creating the conditions for a new golden era for the industry.
“Our technology is very powerful and transformative. We need to implement it in different companies,” says Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and CEO of software company Consensys. “And America is a model for the rest of the world.”
Despite previously dismissing bitcoin as a “scam,” Trump has now extensive ties to the crypto industryincluding many prominent members came out in support of his re-election campaign.
As the 2024 elections approach, crypto organizations donated hundreds of millions of dollars to crypto-focused super political action committees, which have spent the funds to support crypto-friendly congressional candidates, many of whom are Republicans.
During the election campaign, Trump began to present himself as the first “crypto president.” In July, in front of a rabid crowd of bitcoinersTrump has promised to transform the United States into a crypto mining powerhouse and establish a national bitcoin stockpile if he is re-elected. In the same speech, he pledged to fire Gensler, the SEC chairman, drawing the most enthusiastic applause of the evening.