The White House on Wednesday laid out its policy priorities for regulating digital assets, offering detailed guidance to Congress and federal regulators on how it hopes to fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.”
The 166-page report from Trump’s digital assets working group provides recommendations for lawmakers and regulators on everything from crypto oversight to taxation to banking rules.
“We think this is probably the most comprehensive product that’s ever been produced in regards to digital assets,” a White House official said on a call with reporters Wednesday morning. “I think the industry will be extremely pleased with us.”
The report, produced in response to a January executive order from the president, comes after months of efforts in Congress to pass digital asset legislation.
Earlier this month, Trump signed the first major crypto bill, the GENIUS Act, into law. The legislation laid out a regulatory framework for dollar-backed digital tokens known as stablecoins.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have continued to advance legislation seeking to clarify rules for the rest of the crypto market, most critically by splitting up oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The House passed its version, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, earlier this month, while the Senate released a discussion draft of its own bill shortly afterward.
The White House report put forward several recommendations for Congress, many of which appear primed to be included in such legislation.
It calls for lawmakers to ensure the CFTC has spot market authority over non-security digital assets and to affirm a right to self-custody, in which crypto users can hold their assets themselves without the need for a third party.
The report also directs Congress to determine the applications of the Bank Secrecy Act to the crypto market, while specifically calling for an exemption from such rules for software providers.
It urges lawmakers to pass a law banning the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as well.
Concerns over CBDCs nearly threatened to derail the passage of the GENIUS Act earlier this month, as a contingent of hardline Republicans refused to move forward on a trio of crypto bills without further assurances on an anti-CBDC measure.
GOP leadership ultimately agreed to put an anti-CBDC provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, must-pass legislation that increases its chances of reaching Trump’s desk.
Meanwhile, as lawmakers continue to hash out legislation, the White House report suggests that the SEC and CFTC should “use their existing authorities to immediately enable the trading of digital assets at the federal level.”
This appears to give the two key regulators broad leeway to move forward with crypto regulation on their own.
The SEC has already taken steps to lay out its approach to digital assets. After rolling back Biden-era rules and dismissing cases and investigation against numerous crypto cases, the agency has turned its attention to offering guidance on various crypto issues, from meme coins to tokenization.
The CFTC, on the other hand, has been much quieter on the crypto front. The agency is currently operating with only two out of five commissioners after a series of departures. Both of the remaining commissioners have also indicated they plan to leave as well.
Banking regulators, such as the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, are tasked with providing banks with clarity on crypto-related activities by the working group.
The White House report also cautions these regulators against providing guidance based on specific technology, in a callback to concerns about so-called “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
The crypto industry and Republicans have accused Biden-era regulators of targeting the industry by discouraging banks from working with crypto firms — an effort they compared to an Obama-era program that targeted firearm dealers and payday lenders.
The report also suggests banking regulators offer more clarity on the process for obtaining bank charters and Fed master accounts, as crypto firms like Circle and Ripple file applications.
However, this is likely to be a point of contention going forward, as the banking industry urges regulators to pump the brakes on such efforts.
The report underscores Trump’s heavy focus on crypto in his second term in office. After once dismissing crypto as a “scam,” he embraced the industry during his 2024 campaign, in which he promised to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Since taking office, Trump has continued full-steam ahead, naming venture capitalist David Sacks as his artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto czar, hosting crypto leaders at the White House and signing an executive order establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile.
However, his embrace of the industry in his personal life has drawn scrutiny. The president and his sons launched a crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, last fall, which has since released a stablecoin.
Trump also launched a meme coin shortly before inauguration and met with the top investors in the token earlier this year, while his media company has filed to offer several crypto-related assets.
