4 crypto pros sound off on Trump's executive order

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Former President Donald Trump gave a keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville.
Donald Trump gave the keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville.Jon Cherry/Getty Images
  • President Trump signed an executive order promoting digital assets this week.

  • The order will create a working group to recommend regulatory and legislative proposals.

  • The market is bullish on the development, though it didn't address a crypto national reserve.

The crypto industry finally received a long-awaited order from the Oval Office this week.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a clear regulatory framework and pro-crypto legislation. While the order was a somewhat incremental update on the administration's backing of the industry, industry insiders told Business Insider that it's a step in the right direction for a market eager for more robust government support.

"The executive order, as a whole, is mostly aspirational and symbolic. But the direction it points, I think, is quite bullish," Zack Shapiro, the head of policy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, told Business Insider. It reaffirms, at the very least, that the administration wants to do what it can to help US digital assets.

So what does it do? At its core, the order establishes a working group to recommend legislative proposals within 180 days, such as a regulatory-structure bill that would allow crypto startups to onshore, Shapiro said. The group could also recommend stablecoin legislation and explore the potential for a digital assets stockpile.

While crypto investors likely hoped for more forceful and immediate policy action, Irina Karagyuar, the cofounder and CEO of BQ9, said the assessment-driven approach is a good sign and shows a deeper understanding of the industry.

Investors still gained something in the short run, as the order moves the crypto narrative away from "compliance by enforcement," Karagyuar told BI. That's a reference to the hardline regulatory approach pushed by the Securities and Exchange Commission under former chair Gary Gensler, and many have blamed the heavy-handed approach for causing crypto businesses to flee the US.

"While not explicitly mentioned in the executive order, we can expect that 'the development of a Digital Bill of Rights' — as promised as well in the campaign — will be a crucial component of the set of recommendations in the final report," Karagyuar added.

Other insiders were especially excited by the focus on stablecoins, or tokens pegged to fiat currency.

"This is hugely significant," James Brownlee, the cofounder and CEO of Harbour, said in an email. By putting government support behind these coins, the US dollar would become a dominant force in the sector and pressure other governments to follow suit, he said.