Crypto industry lists regulatory framework at the top of its Trump wish

(Bloomberg) — As inauguration day approaches, members of the crypto industry are eagerly anticipating a slew of digital asset friendly executive actions at the dawn of a second Trump Administration.

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Potentially at the top of the wish list would be an executive order prompting the regulatory agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to collaborate on building a framework for digital asset policy. While decisions about how cryptoassets are classified will ultimately be up to Congress, an executive order could spur the agencies to produce research pushing the issue forward. The largest US firms in the sector, from Coinbase Global Inc. to Ripple Labs, have long advocated for clear regulatory guidelines just for digital assets.

President-elect Donald Trump is staffing his ranks of regulatory leaders with pro-industry picks including former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins for chair of the main securities industry regulator and Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. He’s also introduced a new role: artificial intelligence and crypto Czar, a seat to be helmed by David Sachs, general partner of venture firm Craft Venture and a co-founder of PayPal Holdings Inc.

“Those people are ultimately going to make the policy,” said Ari Redbord, global head of policy and government at blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs. “They understand that you need to thread the needle as a regulator between enabling lawful users privacy within an open financial system, but at the same time stopping bad actors and ensuring consumer protection.”

Increased clarity would dovetail with a push by the crypto industry to gain wider access to banking services. Under the Biden Administration, regulators put out statements warning of the risks that come with banking digital asset companies. The shutdowns of crypto friendly banks Signature and Silvergate in 2023 reinvigorated concern about banks being pressured to not deal with crypto companies.

“A level regulatory playing field between the banking and crypto sectors as well as clear rules for permissible crypto-related products and services will support a more secure environment for consumers and the financial system,” Rebeca Romero Rainey, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said in a statement Friday.

The departure of FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg, scheduled for the day before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, has been a cause for celebration among critics who say his agency targeted the crypto industry. Federal Deposit Insurance Vice Chair Travis Hill, one of two Republicans on the FDIC’s board, is expected to take over Gruenberg’s seat.

“I also expect the FDIC to take a more open-minded approach to innovation and technology adoption, while still promoting core safety and soundness principles,” Hill said during a recent speech.

Another key focus for the industry is the easing of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121) that basically require banks to account for customers’ cryptoassets as their own. With those assets effectively being listed on their balance sheets, banks need to maintain higher levels of capital.

Trump is planning to release an executive order elevating crypto as a policy priority and giving industry insiders a voice within his administration, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the plans. The order is expected to name crypto as a national imperative or priority — strategic wording intended to guide government agencies to work with the industry, according to people familiar with the matter. It is also slated to create a crypto advisory council to advocate for the industry’s policy priorities, said the people who requested anonymity to discuss an executive order that is not yet public.

“We are hopeful and optimistic for strong leadership from the incoming administration, making clear that crypto is something we should encourage and embrace in the United States, not drive away,” Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said in a statement.