Donald Trump’s First Day in Office: Potential Executive Orders Impacting the Crypto Industry
It is expected that on January 20, 2024, former US President Donald Trump will execute multiple executive orders on his first day back in the White House, which will have a far-reaching impact on the world of cryptocurrency.
As Trump is also scheduled to discuss pressing issues regarding crypto de-banking and repeal of controversial bank accounting policy requiring banks to classify digital assets as liabilities, a report from The Washington Post on Jan. 13 states that "more than 20 of the current and former officials have left the firm" in recent weeks. One person with direct knowledge of the talks added, “The Trump team has been very clear that this is a priority.”
Increasingly nervous crypto leaders have repeatedly accused President Joe Biden’s administration of using financial regulators to pressure banks into scaling back services to the crypto space in the so-called “Operation ChokePoint 2.0.”
Moreover, the crypto industry has been actively fighting the accounting policy, which comes from a March 2022 Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting Bulletin, dubbed SAB 121, that requires the recording of cryptocurrencies as liabilities.
Representatives from the crypto industry, including CEO of the United States Crypto Association Stephen Barbour, urged Trump to execute crypto-centric executive orders in his first 100 days in office, one of which, as Reuters suggested on December 23, was expected to be signed as early as his first day.
In addition, Trump's crypto and artificial intelligence advisor David Sack held a tech executive and government official luncheon on December 20. Sack also pointed to Trump’s plans to undo Biden’s sweeping 2023 AI executive order, which drew criticism from conservatives for including language promoting equity in AI operations.
These developments have the potential to significantly shift how cryptocurrencies are regulated in the United States, so stay tuned.
