After years of regulatory uncertainty, the much-anticipated federal government changes supporting digital assets are beginning to materialize under President Trump. This week featured two significant announcements: an Executive Order and the establishment of a new Crypto Task Force by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These developments offer the crypto industry a glimpse of what's ahead, although the main event will take a bit longer to arrive. Both the Executive Order and the SEC’s Crypto Task Force lay the groundwork for developing clearer rules and regulations concerning digital assets and blockchain technology. **Executive Order:** The Executive Order from Trump, issued on January 23, creates a Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, chaired by the President’s Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, David Sacks. This group includes officials from various Executive agencies and is tasked with meeting several internal deadlines, ultimately preparing a report for the President within 180 days (by July 22) that recommends “regulatory and legislative proposals that advance the policies in the [Executive Order]. ” The policies aim to provide clearer, more definitive “technology-neutral regulations” and to protect and promote software developers, miners, and other infrastructure providers.

These initiatives are designed to enhance the industry’s “vital role in innovation and economic development, ” a point highlighted by Wiley on behalf of amicus clients last year. Additionally, the Trump Executive Order rescinds the Biden Administration’s 2022 Executive Order on the same topic, which had a more mixed impact on the industry, and it prohibits Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) that the Biden order had aimed to promote. **SEC Task Force:** On January 21, 2025, the SEC initiated its Crypto Task Force “committed to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets. ” Commissioner Hester Peirce leads this initiative, which seeks to move away from the SEC’s previous “regulation-by-enforcement” approach (a topic related to our amicus work) towards establishing “clear regulatory lines, ” “realistic registration pathways, ” “sensible disclosure frameworks, ” and “discriminating enforcement resources. ” While we will need to await further details from the Task Force, Commissioner Peirce shared her vision for the industry on Wiley’s CryptoCounsel Podcast shortly after the 2024 election, positioning herself as a continuing advocate for the industry, promising more clarity in the future. **Conclusion:** In summary, the Trump Administration has reaffirmed its dedication to a pro-growth strategy for the digital asset and blockchain sectors and has outlined the framework to implement this strategy. Further specific policies will follow. We will diligently monitor updates from both the Working Group and the Crypto Task Force, in addition to other developments from the new Administration. *** Wiley’s Digital Assets and Litigation practices support clients ranging from startups to established industry leaders concerning digital assets, cryptocurrencies, distributed ledger technology (DLT), and blockchain projects. We actively represent miners, HPC data centers, and leading industry trade associations in significant litigation within this field. Furthermore, we provide insights and commentary from industry leaders on Wiley’s CryptoCounsel Podcast. Please feel free to reach out to the authors with any inquiries. To keep updated on all Executive Orders and announcements from the Trump Administration, please visit our dedicated resource center below.