President-elect Donald Trump‘s reported plans to sign an executive order making cryptocurrency a top priority for the administration could clear mountains of legal troubles currently playing out.
The executive order, which could be signed on Trump’s first day, is rumored to create an advisory board of industry leaders to guide government agencies, could include guidance to establishing a Bitcoin national stockpile, and could pause all pending litigation involving cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reported. The federal government currently holds about $20 billion worth of Bitcoin that was confiscated during various federal investigations, according to analytics company Arkham.
Since Trump’s victory in November, Bitcoin’s value has increased by almost 50%, to above $100,000. In 2024, while Trump promised on the campaign trail to make the U.S the capital of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin more than doubled its price.
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“What I think Donald Trump is going to do is signal that the United States is back and we are ready to lead in this industry,” Kara Calvert, vice president for U.S. policy at Coinbase Global Inc., the country’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, told Bloomberg. “What it’s signaling to other countries is be careful, or you won’t keep up.
During the 2024 election cycle, the cryptocurrency industry made the most political donations with crypto companies Ripple and Coinbase having spent more than $119 million on political campaigns.
One PAC supporting Trump raised $7.5 million in cryptocurrency for the president.
Trump and his sons even created World Liberty Financial, which is meant to allow people to earn and borrow in cryptocurrency.
Both Ripple and Coinbase have donated to Trump’s inaugural committee, and the industry will be hosting an “Inaugural Crypto Ball” for Trump on Friday.
The industry’s support for Trump comes following crackdowns by the Biden administration.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed more than 100 enforcement actions against the industry, making it difficult for crypto companies to work with financial firms and banks.
“The new administration and a new SEC chairman opens the door for new opportunity in cryptocurrency innovation,” JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington said in a note this week. However, he added, “we don’t see a next wave of cryptocurrency [exchange-traded product] launches as being meaningful for the crypto ecosystem given much smaller market capitalization of other tokens and far lower investor interest.”