Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday (ET) to establish the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, tasked with developing a federal regulatory framework governing digital assets, including stablecoins.
“President Trump will help make the United States the centre of digital financial technology innovation by halting aggressive enforcement actions and regulatory overreach that have stifled crypto innovation under previous administrations,” the official White House site states.
According to the executive order, the working group will also have the task of evaluating the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile, in addition to proposing criteria for establishing such a stockpile.
The move is a welcome development for the cryptocurrency market, which has been eagerly watching to see if Trump follows through on his pre-election promises.
Notably, Trump, who in the lead-up to the election, pledged to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet”, didn’t touch on the subject in his inauguration speech nor did cryptocurrency feature in the sea of executive orders he signed on his first day in the Oval Office.
Global X strategist Billy Leung underscored last week that, while bitcoin could be on track for US$120,000, the radio silence from the White House had sparked doubt in the market.
“The lack of immediate announcements during the inauguration has introduced near-term uncertainty, with bitcoin retracing to US$103,500,” Leung said.
However, the pledges he made in July at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville – such as appointing a cryptocurrency presidential advisory council, establishing a stablecoin framework and maintaining a “strategic national bitcoin stockpile” – are now beginning to take shape.
On the back of the announcement, Coinbase Australia welcomed the executive order, stating that it will pave the way for further recognition and regulation of digital assets closer to home.
“Coinbase Australia welcomes this US executive order, which demonstrates leadership from the Trump administration in recognising the role of digital assets in a modern economy,” the company’s APAC managing director, John O’Loghlen, said.
“Digital assets like cryptocurrency enable economic freedom and give people more control over their financial future. With digital assets already a mainstream asset option for many Australian investors, we’d like to see our own government leaders in Australia follow the lead of the US and prioritise their recognition and regulation.”
Also last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s acting chairman, Mark T Uyeda, announced the launch of a dedicated cryptocurrency task force, tasked with developing a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework” for cryptocurrency assets.
At the time, Crypto.com Australia head Vakul Talwar said that cryptocurrency’s positive reaction to Trump’s re-election has prompted a renewed interest among Australian investors.
“Consumer confidence in the industry is higher as we head into 2025, with a recent survey we conducted finding that 75 per cent of Australian users on our platform believe that the crypto market will fare better this year,” Talwar said.
“For the Australian market, a rise in crypto adoption is the other driving force behind industry growth here. This stems from consumers looking to the asset class as both a means of investing and as a way to transact for everyday goods and services.”
As such, Talwar expects cryptocurrency adoption rates in Australia to increase at an accelerated pace and believes that the US’ increasing embrace of cryptocurrency is something that local regulars should take note of.
“In order to encourage domestic investment and further consumer adoption, the government must make this a priority in 2025.”
