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(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump signed executive actions related to cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, moves that could bolster two nascent industries.
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The president was joined by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks, a venture capitalist and major political donor.
The crypto order creates a working group to advise the White House on digital asset policies and will include the involvement of key federal agencies, like the Treasury Department, Justice Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The group will be tasked with submitting a report to the president within approximately six months recommending a regulatory framework and legislative proposals, including evaluating the creation of a digital asset stockpile.
“It absolutely changes the fundamentals on the ground,” said Kara Calvert, vice president for US policy at Coinbase Global Inc., the biggest US crypto exchange. “You have a president who embraces digital assets and created an advisory council that recognizes the need for non-government expertise. That’s really exciting.”
Still, the order was met with a mixed reaction elsewhere in the crypto community. Bitcoin proponents express disappointment that the order didn’t specify that the largest cryptocurrency would be at the center of a national reserve as many had speculated. Trump had endorsed the idea on the campaign trail.
“What crypto twitter wanted is very different from what reality is,” said Zaheer Ebtikar, founder of crypto fund Split Capital. “If you think about it, even buying one Bitcoin by the US government will be extremely reflective because all other governments will follow and buy it. Evaluating a potential national digital asset stockpile is as optimistic as real news could be.”
Bitcoin dropped around 1% to $102,750 after the executive actions were disclosed. The original digital currency, which accounts for more than half the crypto’s market value, has surged more than 50% since Trump was elected.
Sacks noted that the group would “make America the world capital on crypto under your leadership,” he said in a nod to Trump.
He added that the artificial intelligence action would allow the US to “dominate and to lead the world in AI.”