A new group formed by President Donald Trump, apparently tasked with ensuring the US is at the forefront of blockchain innovation, has put forward its recommendations. Those recommendations include a call to shore up regulatory oversight, enabling oversight of spot markets, and allowing the trading of crypto assets at a federal level.
It has also called for changes to enable consumers to trade crypto without unnecessary bureaucratic delays, and follows Trump’s July signing of a federal bill to regulate stablecoins.
The blockchain industry is one built on innovation, with investors consistently looking for the next big innovation. This has seen the introduction of new DeFi apps, the implementation of smart contracts, and the launch of layer-2 networks like Bitcoin Hyper.
According to crypto expert Mark Mak, Bitcoin Hyper’s new layer-2 network will add new protocols to Bitcoin’s network that will help reduce transaction fees and times. And it is innovations like these, and the many decentralized finance apps that are being launched, that Donald Trump wants to encourage, under his new pro-crypto guise.
In January, Trump signed an executive order establishing a new crypto group, called the Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. Trump, who once described cryptocurrencies as “a scam against the dollar” also appointed David Sacks, a renowned venture capitalist, to become White House artificial intelligence and crypto czar. And, while it proved to be ill-fated, he struck up an initially strong relationship with crypto-fanatic Elon Musk.
Although there had been some unrest among crypto fans, who pointed to the lack of concrete movement on the crypto front, Trump finally signed a new bill in July, regulating stablecoins. The so-called Genius Act, sets out a regulatory framework for stablecoins backed by US dollars. Specifically, the bill requires stablecoin firms to maintain short-term government debts and other related products equal to the value of the coin’s total market capitalization. Those in the crypto industry saw it as the first move towards regulating the wider cryptocurrency industry, and if the latest recommendations are anything to go by, that could well prove to be the case.
The group has recommended that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission be given the authority to oversee spot markets. It has also called for the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is headed by Trump’s pro-crypto pick, Paul Atkins, to allow the federal trading of digital assets while also enabling the launch of innovative financial products to consumers, eliminating needless bureaucratic delays.
The report is likely another step towards the establishment of a federal Bitcoin reserve. In January, Trump’s order demanded that agencies highlight how much Bitcoin they have seized from criminal activities, and demanded that these be held rather than sold. Trump has also called for clarity on how the reserve could buy and sell Bitcoin in economically neutral ways.
On the publication of the group’s recommendations, the White House has said: “By implementing these recommendations, policymakers can ensure that the United States leads the blockchain revolution and ushers in the Golden Age of Crypto.”
Featured image by Art Rachen on Unsplash
