The administration of President Donald Trump introduced a comprehensive plan to reform the regulation of digital assets in the United States. The plan aims to support innovation, develop the crypto market, and protect consumer rights.
The National Economic Council’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets proposed a package of measures intended to clarify the regulation of the digital asset market in the U.S.
The authors emphasize that the proposed approach is designed to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world” and to eliminate the consequences of the previous administration’s policies, which were criticized within the industry for excessive pressure on companies working with digital assets.
The package is viewed as a strategic plan to strengthen the U.S.’s position in the global financial market amid growing competition in digital technologies and includes recommendations in the following areas:
- citizens’ rights and freedom to use technologies;
- development of the digital asset market;
- banking sector and digital assets;
- stablecoins and payment systems;
- combating illegal use of digital assets;
- taxation of digital assets.
Key requirements outlined in the document include:
- legally securing individuals’ right to store their digital assets without intermediaries and conduct peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions for lawful purposes;
- establishing principles that determine when control over an asset triggers obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA);
- excluding software developers for non-custodial services from classification as “money transmitters”;
- immediately allowing digital asset trading at the federal level;
- regulating spot markets for digital assets;
- permitting the use of DeFi protocols and setting rules based on the degree of actual decentralization of the project;
- banning practices similar to “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” i.e., regulatory pressure on banks to de-bank crypto companies;
- ensuring technological neutrality in banking requirements that should assess risks of specific transactions rather than prohibit or limit activities based on technology used or industry affiliation;
- allowing banks to freely pilot new activities related to digital assets and blockchain innovations;
- enacting a law banning the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the U.S.;
- clarifying the application of the BSA to foreign market participants;
- enhancing information sharing between private and public sectors to combat illegal activity with clear limits on the purpose of such exchange;
- issuing clear guidelines on digital asset taxation;
- revising the stance on taxation of income from crypto staking and mining;
- recognizing cryptocurrencies as a separate asset class for tax purposes.
The document’s authors state that some proposals may be implemented within the current authority of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and banking regulators. However, key initiatives and legislation will require Congressional approval.
“We are creating rules that do not stifle innovation, but protect the rights of Americans and strengthen the position of the dollar in the digital age. The United States must be the crypto capital of the world — and this plan sets us on that path,” said David Sacks, Chair of the Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.
The GENIUS Act regulating the stablecoin market and imposing strict requirements on issuers was recently passed in the U.S.
