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Just as crypto folk were beginning to get nervous that Donald Trump had not mentioned "crypto" since his inauguration, the returning US president has fulfilled his promise of prioritising the digital asset industry by signing an executive order.
On Thursday, Trump signed an order in the Oval Office that aims to advance cryptocurrency in the US while exploring the development of a digital asset stockpile.
“The digital asset industry plays a crucial role in innovation and economic development in the United States, as well as our Nation’s international leadership,” the executive order reads.
The executive order addresses the establishment of technology and regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrency development in the US, and the creation of a working group to assess the feasibility of a national digital asset stockpile.
This stockpile could be “potentially derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement effort.”
Trump previously pledged that his administration would retain all Bitcoin holdings acquired by the government.
“If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future,” Trump declared during a keynote address at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville last July.
Blockhead
The order also outlines blockchain safeguards to protect individuals that use blockchain networks from "persecution." Developers and miners will also be able to freely 'develop and deploy software."
Additionally, the order defends the rights of those who self-custody their digital assets, allowing users to store cryptocurrencies in personal wallets outside the reach of centralized platforms or regulators like the IRS.
Another priority highlighted in the order is the promotion of the U.S. dollar’s global dominance through the expansion of legitimate, dollar-backed stablecoins.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday, Trump said the US will become the “world capital of artificial intelligence and crypto” and that US energy production from oil and gas could be used to “reduce the cost of virtually all goods and services” and make the country a “manufacturing superpower.”
