A cryptocurrency task force set up by President Donald Trump is expected to release a report on Wednesday outlining the administration’s views on tokenisation, key crypto legislation, and other matters vital to the digital asset sector.
Shortly after taking office in January, Trump ordered the creation of a crypto working group tasked with proposing new regulations, making good on his campaign promise to overhaul US crypto policy.
Wednesday’s report is a culmination of the task force’s work so far and its first public findings. In line with Trump’s January executive order, it will lay out what rules and laws should be enacted to advance the policy goals of the pro-crypto White House.
What Will The Report Contain?
The report will discuss market structure, taxes, consumer protection, and “clear rules of the road” for crypto, according to senior administration officials.
Additional policy goals discussed in the report include making sure the Securities and Exchange Commission has a framework in place for firms to offer blockchain-based stocks and bonds, according to one person familiar with the discussions. The report is also expected to detail the administration’s wish list for legislation Congress is currently debating to create broad regulatory guidelines for cryptocurrency, according to a second person familiar with the report.
The working group led by Trump official Bo Hines includes several administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, SEC Chair Paul Atkins, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought.
“While there have been regulatory regimes in place that have maybe been piecemeal or have allowed the industry to grow in certain ways, the recommendations that we expect to see in the report will be a good roadmap for how to build out crypto as a continued important part of the economy going forward,” said Rebecca Rettig, chief legal officer at crypto firm Jito Labs.
On the campaign trail last year, Trump courted crypto cash by pledging to be a “crypto president” and promote the adoption of digital assets. That is in stark contrast to former President Joe Biden’s regulators, who, in a bid to protect Americans from fraud and money laundering, cracked down on the industry. The Biden administration sued exchanges Coinbase COIN.O, Binance, and dozens more, alleging they were flouting US laws. Trump’s SEC has since dropped those cases.
Tokenisation, Stablecoins, Market Structure
Industry participants will be looking closely at what the report says about tokenization, the process of turning financial assets – such as bank deposits, stocks, bonds, funds, and even real estate – into crypto assets.
The report will discuss tokenization “extensively” in a chapter on crypto market structure, senior administration officials said.
Crypto firms and others have been increasingly discussing the prospect of tokenizing securities as a new way to facilitate trading. Coinbase recently told Reuters it was seeking a US green light from the SEC to offer blockchain-based stocks. The SEC has yet to weigh in publicly on that request.
Wednesday’s report is expected to recognize the need for the SEC to develop a framework for tokenization, according to a source familiar with the discussions, but the details of the language were not immediately clear.
The report will also lay out what the White House would like to see from market structure legislation working its way through Congress, according to a separate person with knowledge of the report and a senior administration official. The House of Representatives passed a bill called the Clarity Act earlier this month that would create a formal regulatory regime for crypto, and the US Senate is considering its own version of the measure.
Trump’s Bill
Earlier this month, Trump signed into law a bill to create federal rules for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar. That move was hailed as a major win for the digital asset industry, and the White House has said it wants Congress to pass market structure legislation next, which would have far wider repercussions for the industry.
The crypto sector has for years argued that existing US regulations are inappropriate for cryptocurrencies and has called for Congress and regulators to write new ones that clarify when a crypto token is a security, commodity, or falls into another category, such as stablecoins.
The president’s support for the crypto industry has sparked conflict-of-interest concerns, which at times have threatened to derail congressional crypto legislation. Trump’s family has launched cryptocurrency meme coins, and the president also holds a stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform. The White House has denied that any conflicts of interest are present.
(With inputs from Reuters)
