What does Trump’s new executive order do about cryptocurrencies? – Deseret News

President Donald Trump took another step toward his promise to make the United States the “cryptocurrency capital of the planet” on Thursday, signing an agreement Executive order It aims to boost the domestic cryptocurrency sector and explore the possibility of creating a new national stock of digital assets.

“The digital asset industry plays a critical role in innovation and economic development in the United States, as well as our country’s international leadership,” the order states. “It is therefore the policy of my administration to support responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology and related technologies in all sectors of the economy.”

The order includes a directive to establish a new Presidential Task Force on Digital Asset Markets and will be tasked with “developing a federal regulatory framework governing digital assets, including stablecoins, and evaluating the creation of a strategic national stockpile of digital assets.”

Historically, federal law enforcement officials have auctioned off cryptocurrency assets seized in criminal investigations, according to a report by CNBC.

According to the order, David Sachs, a White House artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency expert, will chair the group, which will also include the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and “the heads of other relevant departments and agencies.”

A White House fact sheet accompanying the order states that the effort aims to “eliminate regulatory abuses on digital assets and protect American economic freedom.”

Cryptocurrency shift for Trump

In the run-up to the 2024 election, Trump reversed his previous stance as a critic of the cryptocurrency market, which he once called a “scam” during his first term. He has since pivoted to being a crypto supporter and made repeated pledges during his election campaign to create a friendly space for the sector. Among his pro-crypto comments was a promise he made during a speech at a cryptocurrency conference last summer that, under his leadership, “the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate it.”

Last month, Trump made good on that pledge, choosing Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins, who served as SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, is widely known as a staunch supporter of the cryptocurrency market.

Trump highlighted Atkins’ position on cryptocurrencies in the selection announcement, which was posted on Truth Social in December.

“Paul is a proven leader on common-sense regulations,” Trump wrote. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that respond to investor needs, and that provide the capital to make our economy the best in the world. He also understands that digital assets and other innovations are essential to making America greater than ever.”

How did cryptocurrency markets react to Trump winning a second term?

Trump’s pro-crypto stance led to a surge in value across the cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin, which broke the $100,000 mark for the first time in early December and traded at $110,000 later in the month before prices retreated slightly. The digital token ended 2024 up more than 100% for the year, with nearly half of those gains coming after Trump won the election in early November.

Bitcoin set a record high value benchmark on Monday before the open, rising to more than $109,000 before pulling back later in the day. At around midday on Friday, bitcoin was trading for just under $107,000 per token, according to tracking Queen Gekko.

The President and First Lady Melania Trump have made their own personal dips into cryptocurrency markets, separately launching official coins for Trump and Melania ahead of the inauguration on Monday.

The official Trump token entered the market on January 17 at a price of approximately $6.50. At midday Friday, the coin was trading at just over $33, and had a market value of more than $6.6 billion, according to tracking by Queen Gekko.

The Melania coin was trading at a price well below its opening market value of just under $8.50 on January 19, and was trading at around $2.60 as of midday on Friday, per Queen Gekko.