By Gram Slattery, Chris Prentice and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump plans to use his executive powers to reduce the regulatory burden facing cryptocurrency companies and promote adoption of digital assets in his first days in office, according to three people familiar with the plan.
Trump, who courted crypto cash on the campaign trail by promising to be a “crypto president,” is expected to sign an executive order to create a crypto advisory council, an idea he first floated in July, two sources familiar with the matter said. wished to remain anonymous. discuss private consultations.
Bloomberg News first reported on Thursday that Trump plans to issue an executive order creating a crypto council, which would help advise the government on crypto-friendly policies. It could have as many as 20 members, according to one of the sources.
Trump’s advisers have also discussed using an executive order to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to repeal the 2022 accounting guidance known as “SAB 121” that made it too expensive for some companies, especially banks, to hold cryptocurrencies on behalf of third parties, people they said.
Trump is also expected to order an end to “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” a term crypto executives use to describe what they say is a concerted effort by bank regulators to squeeze crypto companies out of the traditional financial system by directing banks to deny them services.
Banking regulators deny the existence of such an effort.
Reuters could not determine whether Trump would direct the changes through one or several executive orders, but sources said the goal was to quickly send a strong signal that the new administration broadly supports the adoption of digital assets.
If implemented by relevant regulators, Trump’s expected policy guidelines have the potential to push cryptocurrencies into the mainstream, regulatory and crypto experts say.
That’s in stark contrast to President Joe Biden’s regulators who, in an attempt to protect Americans from fraud and money laundering, have taken down crypto companies, sued exchanges Coinbase (NASDAQ: ), Binance, Kraken and dozens of others in federal court.
Critics of the cryptocurrency industry point to the downfalls of top crypto executives Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years for fraud, and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who briefly went to prison for violating money laundering laws, as evidence of the industry’s dangers.
A representative for Trump, who counts several crypto advocates among his financial backers and top Cabinet picks, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cryptocurrency regulation is just one of several topics Trump is expected to address with executive orders in the early days of his second four-year term.
The incoming president’s team has promised dozens of executive orders on topics ranging from energy production to illegal immigration.
