On Thursday (Jan 23), President Donald Trump penned an executive order to establish a specialist working group to develop digital asset regulation, with a broader aim of stockpiling crypto holdings.
After the 47th POTUS signed more than 100 executive orders on his inauguration day last week, he is maintaining his push for change and a new dawn in the States with this latest move.
The order outlined how “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.”
As the President signed off on the directive in the Oval Office, David Sacks was by his side.
The 52-year-old South African-American is a venture capitalist who was headhunted to act as a crypto czar and sounding board for the incumbent Trump administration.
This development will enthuse the wider crypto sector which backed the President along the campaign trail earlier this year after he vowed to enact sweeping changes to the regulatory framework and provide much sought-after clarity for the industry.
Trump’s charm offensive toward the crypto community included exclusive gatherings at his Mar-A-Lago resort, like this one in May, where he declared, “If you’re for crypto, you better vote for Trump.”
The millions came rolling in with the crypto lobby said to be responsible for almost half the total corporate donations in the 2024 election cycle.
🚨 NOW: Donald Trump signs an executive order to help make “America the world the capital of crypto.” pic.twitter.com/UELJCDvGeb
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 23, 2025
Trump’s shift from crypto critic to champion
All this came after Trump’s change of position on crypto, as he was previously an outspoken critic of the alternate digital currency. He has shifted from describing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as “based on thin air” back in 2019, to his current status as a leader and champion for the industry.
The detail of the executive order is focused on setting out rules for the development of crypto and how to strengthen the United States as a powerhouse for digital currency.
A key element is the working group’s remit to explore the potential to establish a national digital asset stockpile, “potentially derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement effort.”
The order also prohibited the prospect of central bank digital currencies in the States which would complete with, and negate, existing cryptocurrencies.
President Trump had pledged, upon his return to power, that the federal government would never sell off its Bitcoin holdings but there was no explicit mention of Bitcoin in the crypto executive order.