This is an opinion piece by Selva Ozelli: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent those of The Byteline.

On January 23, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.”

The EO supports the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy in order to secure America’s position as the world’s leader in the digital asset economy, driving innovation and economic opportunity.

Protecting the lawful use of blockchain networks, participation in mining and validation, and self-custody of digital assets without unlawful censorship; promoting dollar-backed stablecoins; prohibiting central bank digital currencies; ensuring fair and open access to banking services; providing “regulatory clarity” for digital assets based on “well-defined jurisdictional regulatory boundaries” by establishing a Working Group on Digital Asset Markets to be chaired by White House AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks, who shared his opinions here.

The Working Group will include the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Treasury, among seven other top officials who will:

1. Identify regulations, guidance documents, and orders pertaining to the digital asset industry within 30 days.
2. Submit recommendations regarding rescission, modification, or regulatory adoption of those items within 60 days.
3. Submit a report to President Trump recommending regulatory and legislative proposals to establish a federal framework for the issuance and operation of digital assets, including stablecoins, and evaluate the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain investor William Quigley, co-founder of WAX.io blockchain and Stablecoin Tether, said in an interview:

“It is exciting that the Trump Administration intends to make the United States the center of digital financial technology innovation by ensuring that regulatory frameworks are clear, especially in regard to stablecoins and the growth of digital financial technology in the United States remains unhindered by restrictive regulations or unnecessary government interference.”

Vivek Ramsar, the CEO of etherealize.io, which connects institutions to the largest, secure, and open blockchain eco-friendly Ethereum ecosystem, agrees:

“We believe this [EO] was a monumental structural change to make the US the capital of crypto and AI.”

The executive order rescinds:

• Executive Order 14067, issued by President Biden on March 9, 2022, which, among other things, placed “the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC.”
• The Department of the Treasury’s “Framework for International Engagement on Digital Assets,” issued on July 7, 2022, as detailed in a press release.

Rhett Shipp, CEO of Avant, an on-chain stablecoin dollar provider, explained:

“President Trump’s executive order rejecting a U.S. CBDC and supporting stablecoins is a clear signal of where the industry is heading. Stablecoins already serve as a more effective alternative—boosting dollar adoption globally while maintaining financial privacy. With stablecoins increasingly backed by U.S. Treasuries, they align well with national interests. Supporting stablecoin growth, rather than introducing a government-controlled digital currency, is the right move for both financial innovation and the U.S. economy.”

Regulatory clarity and industry concerns

Under the Biden administration, the crypto industry’s biggest complaint was the lack of regulatory clarity in the classification of digital assets between a security and a commodity. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) regulation-by-enforcement approach was widely criticized.

Recent legal cases have demonstrated that determining whether a cryptocurrency is a security is a complex challenge. For example, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District of Columbia, who is presiding over the SEC’s case against Binance, questioned the approach during a hearing:

“Where’s the SEC been? Does that matter … why is it that if they’re trying to achieve legislation, is that some suggestion there’s something missing in the statute to cover this? Why are we doing this on a coin-by-coin, case-by-case, judge-by-judge litigation which depends on the … vagaries of the individual districts … as opposed to issuing a reg that tells everybody ‘this is it?’”

Similarly, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York, who is overseeing the SEC’s case against Coinbase, made similar remarks. On January 7, she granted an interlocutory appeal regarding whether “certain transactions involving crypto-assets qualified as investment contracts within the SEC’s regulatory purview”—i.e., as securities.

She noted that the issue “presents a controlling question of law regarding the reach and application of Howey to crypto-assets, about which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion, and the resolution of which would advance the ultimate termination of the SEC’s enforcement action.”

Legislators and regulatory shifts

President Trump has appointed legislators with deep knowledge of the crypto industry, including:

• David Sacks – White House crypto and AI czar.
• Representative French Hill – Chair of the House Financial Services Committee.
• Senator Cynthia Lummis – Newly formed chair of the Senate Banking Committee’s subcommittee on digital assets.
• SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce.
• Elon Musk, who favors Memecoins, as an advisor.
• Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick.

Confidence is growing that digital asset-friendly regulation is on the way. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s new task force, which will develop a regulatory framework for crypto assets in collaboration with the CFTC, is expected to:

• Ease regulatory burdens and create a crypto-friendly framework.
• Focus on capital formation and enforcement that prioritizes investor protection.

Lee A. Schneider, General Counsel at Ava Labs, which builds out the Avalanche blockchain, expressed optimism:

“The Executive Order sets the stage for a lot of activity in the blockchain and crypto world, including from regulators. We are excited to work on the proposals as they take shape.”

Avalanche is the fastest smart contract platform in the blockchain industry and is known for its eco-friendly, low-cost infrastructure for tokenizing assets.

Current U.S. digital asset regulations

Currently, digital assets in the U.S. are regulated across multiple areas, and new policies will determine how blockchain, crypto, and AI interact with the financial ecosystem.

Selva Ozelli Esq. is a CPA and author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally.

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