A lot of attention! The White House is about to release the first cryptocurrency policy setting report in the Trump era

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the Cryptocurrency Task Force formed by US President Trump will release a policy report on Wednesday local time, which is expected to clarify the government's position on issues critical to the digital asset industry, such as tokenization and market-defining cryptocurrency legislation.

Shortly after taking office in January of this year, Trump ordered the establishment of a cryptocurrency task force to propose new regulations and fulfill the vow he promised during the election campaign to comprehensively reform the US cryptocurrency policy. The report released this time is a concentrated reflection of the group's phased results, and it is also the first publicly disclosed research conclusion. According to Trump's executive order issued in January, the report will detail the regulatory system required to achieve the White House's policy goals to support the development of cryptocurrencies.

According to a person familiar with the discussions, the report will include ensuring that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) establishes a framework to enable companies to issue blockchain-based stocks and bonds. Another person familiar with the report said the report will also set out the government's list of expectations for legislation currently being discussed in Congress to develop broad regulatory guidelines for cryptocurrencies.

The task force is led by Trump administration official Beau Hines, and members include a number of government officials, including Treasury Secretary Bezent, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Walter.

The US White House, the Treasury Department, and the SEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

Rebecca Rettig, chief legal officer of cryptocurrency company Jito Labs, said, “Although there are currently some regulatory systems, which may be scattered or have contributed to the development of the industry in some ways, we expect the recommendations in the report will be a good roadmap for how to make cryptocurrencies a continuing important part of the future economy.”

During the election campaign, Trump sought financial support for the cryptocurrency sector by promising to become a “cryptocurrency president” and promote the adoption of digital assets. This is in stark contrast to the regulators of former President Joe Biden's administration — the Biden administration has cracked down on the industry to protect Americans from fraud and money laundering. The Biden administration has sued dozens of exchanges, including Coinbase (COIN.US) and Binance, accusing them of violating US law. And the SEC under the Trump administration has since dropped these cases.

Tokenization, stablecoins, and market structure

Industry participants will keep a close eye on what the report says about tokenization. Tokenization refers to the process of converting financial assets such as bank deposits, stocks, bonds, funds, and even real estate into cryptographic assets.

Cryptocurrency companies and others have been increasingly exploring the possibility of tokenizing securities as a new way to facilitate transactions. Coinbase recently said it is seeking approval from the SEC to provide blockchain-based stock trading services in the US. The SEC has yet to publicly comment on this request.

According to people familiar with the matter, the report released on Wednesday is expected to acknowledge the need for the SEC to develop a framework for tokenization, but the details of the wording are unclear.

Another person familiar with the matter said that the report will also clarify the Palace's expectations for congressional legislation on the structure of the cryptocurrency market. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed the Clarity Act to establish a regulatory system for cryptocurrencies, and the relevant legislative process in the Senate is also underway.

Earlier this month, Trump signed a bill establishing federal rules for stablecoins. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar. The move was hailed as a major victory for the digital asset industry, and the White House said it hoped Congress would pass market structure legislation next, which would have a wider impact on the industry.

For many years, the cryptocurrency industry has believed that current US regulations do not apply to cryptocurrencies, and has called on Congress and regulators to enact new regulations to clarify when cryptocurrencies fall into other categories such as securities, commodities, or stablecoins.

Trump's support for the cryptocurrency industry has raised concerns about conflicts of interest, which sometimes even threaten the advancement of congressional cryptocurrency legislation. The Trump family launched the cryptocurrency Meme Coin, and they themselves also hold shares in the cryptocurrency platform World Liberty Financial. The White House denies any conflict of interest.