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 few days in office, according to three people familiar with the matter. informed about the plan.
Trump, who courted cryptocurrency on the campaign trail with promises to be a “crypto president,” is expected to sign an executive order creating a crypto advisory council, an idea he first floated in July, said two of the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private considerations .
Bloomberg News first reported on Thursday that Trump planned to issue an executive order creating a crypto council, which would help advise the government on crypto-friendly policy. According to one of the sources, it may have as many as 20 members.
Trump’s advisers have also discussed using an executive order to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to revoke 2022 accounting guidance known as “SAB 121,” which has made it too expensive for some companies, particularly banks, to hold cryptocurrencies on behalf of third parties . people said.
Trump is also expected to order the end of “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” the term crypto executives use to describe what they say has been a concerted effort by banking regulators to choke crypto companies out of the traditional financial system by asking banks to deny them favors.
Bank regulators deny that such an effort exists.
Reuters could not determine whether Trump would lead the changes through one or more 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 the appropriate regulators, Trump’s expected policy directives 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 effort to protect Americans from fraud and money laundering, cracked down on crypto companies and sued exchanges Coinbase (NASDAQ: ), Binance, Kraken and dozens more in federal court.
Critics of the cryptocurrency industry point to the downfalls of leading crypto executives Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud, and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who was briefly jailed for money laundering violations, as evidence of the industry’s dangers.
A representative for Trump, who counts several crypto advocates among his financial backers and top Cabinet committees, 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 orders in the opening 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.
