As anticipated, the Trump Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have rolled out new plans for the regulation of digital assets.

Background

On January 23, 2025,  the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order to promote US leadership in digital assets and financial technology and to support the growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy.

The Order sets forth the following goals:

  • Protecting and promoting the ability of individual citizens and private-sector entities to access and use for lawful purposes open public blockchain networks without persecution, including the ability to develop and deploy software, to participate in mining and validating, to transact with other persons without unlawful censorship, and to maintain self-custody of digital assets
  • Promoting and protecting the sovereignty of the US dollar, including through actions to promote the development and growth of lawful and legitimate dollar-backed stablecoins worldwide
  • Protecting and promoting fair and open access to banking services for all law-abiding individual citizens and private-sector entities alike
  • Providing regulatory clarity and certainty built on technology-neutral regulations, frameworks that account for emerging technologies, transparent decision making, and well-defined jurisdictional regulatory boundaries, and
  • Taking measures to protect Americans from the risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), including by prohibiting the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the US.

The Executive Order also revokes the Department of the Treasury’s Framework for International Engagement on Digital Assets and Executive Order 14067, which were adopted in 2022 under the Biden Administration, and all related policies, directives, and guidance to the extent that they are inconsistent with the provisions of the executive order.

Working Group on Digital Asset Markets

In addition, the Executive Order establishes within the National Economic Council the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets (Working Group), which is chaired by the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto and includes the following officials, or their designees:

  • The Secretary of the Treasury
  • The Attorney General
  • The Secretary of Commerce
  • The Secretary of Homeland Security
  • The Director of the Office of Management and Budget
  • The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
  • The Assistant to the President for National Economic Policy (APEP)
  • The Assistant to the President for Science and Technology
  • The Homeland Security Advisor
  • The Chairman of the SEC, and
  • The Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Furthermore, the Executive Order provides that:

  • Within 30 days of the date of the Order, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice, the SEC, and other relevant agencies shall identify all regulations, guidance documents, orders, or other items that affect the digital asset sector. 
  • Within 60 days of the date of the Order, each agency shall submit to the Working Group’s chair recommendations with respect to whether each identified regulation, guidance document, order, or other item should be rescinded or modified, or, for items other than regulations, adopted in a regulation.
  • Within 180 days of the date of the Order, the Working Group shall submit a report to the President, through the APEP, which shall recommend regulatory and legislative proposals that advance the policies established in the order.  In particular, the report shall focus on the following:
    • A proposal for a federal regulatory framework governing the issuance and operation of digital assets, including stablecoins, in the US, taking into account provisions for market structure, oversight, consumer protection, and risk management
    • An evaluation of the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile, and
    • Criteria for establishing a national digital asset stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the federal government through its law enforcement efforts.

As appropriate and consistent with law, the Working Group shall hold public hearings and receive individual expertise from leaders in digital assets and digital markets.

In addition, the Order prohibits agencies from undertaking any action to establish, issue, or promote CBDCs within the jurisdiction of the US or abroad and, except to the extent required by law, terminates any ongoing plans or initiatives at any agency related to the creation of a CBDC within the US. Furthermore, the Order prohibits further actions to develop or implement such plans or initiatives.

SEC crypto task force

On January 21, 2025, SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda announced the formation of the SEC’s crypto task force, which will be dedicated to developing a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework” for crypto assets. The task force, which anticipates holding roundtables in the future, will be led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. The actions from the Trump Administration and the SEC’s acting chairman signal that the markets may experience significantly greater activity, whether in the private or public markets, in the digital assets space.

For more information, please contact the authors or any member of DLA Piper’s Public Company Advisory team. Please also see DLA Piper’s Financial Services newsletter, Blockchain and Digital Assets News and Trends.