Key Takeaways
- Donald Trump signed an executive order to draft crypto regulations, ban CDBCs and explore the creation of a national digital asset stockpile.
- The SEC has repealed the anti-crypto bulletin SAB121, allowing banks to interact with crypto more freely.
- The President has given an unconditional pardon to Silk Road founder, Ross Ulbricht.
After having the entire cryptocurrency world standing to attention following his many pledges to crypto, Donald Trump’s first week began slow but ended with several major victories for crypto.
Day One
Understandably, Trump has a lot of major domestic and international priorities to set straight, which included signing a swathe of executive orders addressing all manners of business before he’d even stepped foot in the Oval Office.
Much to the dismay of the crypto community, Trump didn’t mention Bitcoin (BTC), crypto or digital assets once throughout the 6+ hour-long inauguration proceedings on Jan. 20, 2025. This gave crypto the jitters, as markets responded poorly to Trump’s crypto omissions.
As for the all-important “Day One” pledges, Trump has already let the crypto community down, having not committed—so far—to two.
First, he explicitly stated he would repeal SAB121, a regulation that discourages and/or prevents banks from entering the digital assets business. It’s considered a pillar of the anti-crypto conspiracy known as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
Second, he promised to also free Silk Road founder, Ross Ulbricht. This isn’t directly related to regulating or developing crypto, but Ulbricht is considered an important figure as his peer-to-peer darknet marketplace pioneered Bitcoin payments, for better or worse.
As for key appointments, Trump placed pro-crypto advocate, Mark Uyeda, as acting chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Officially taking over from Gary Gensler, he will lead the agency until Paul Atkins, Trump’s first pick, is confirmed to take over from Uyeda.
Day Two: Ulbricht Free
In a brilliant turn of events, Trump came good on his promise to free Ulbricht and officially announced that he was given an unconditional pardon. Trump said:
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern-day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years.”
Almost immediately following his appointment, interim SEC chair, Uyeda, got to work on creating a crypto task force with “Crypto Mom” SEC commissioner, Hester Peirce, being tapped to lead up the newly established task force.
Day Three
Trump’s third day closed with radio silence on the crypto front. Instead, he continued signing a flurry of executive orders that would serve to reorient the U.S. government toward his policy goals.
Indeed, the slow start is proving strenuous for the crypto community, who may have anticipated an executive order that—in some way—related to crypto within his first few days of office.
Day Four: Crypto in Focus
During another volley of executive actions, Donald Trump finally brought crypto to the table, signing a comprehensive order that’ll serve as the bedrock for his administration’s crypto ambitions.
Key provisions in the executive order, much to the celebration of the crypto community, included a ban on the creation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), exploring the creation of a “national crypto stockpile,” and putting together a crypto working group to build crypto regulations.
This group has 30 days to examine and identify regulations, laws and legislation around crypto; 60 days to make recommendations on repealing, creating or modifying rules; and 6 months to draft comprehensive regulations on crypto and stablecoins.
Making good on another “Day One” pledge, the SEC announced it had repealed SAB121, admitting the contentious policy had stifled crypto.
Following this, Cynthia Lummis was voted in to lead the first-ever digital crypto-centric panel, the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets. Presumably, Lummis is eager to get to work on establishing a national strategic Bitcoin/crypto reserve.
Day Five
To wrap the week, Trump flew to disaster-hit North Carolina and Los Angeles with no further mentions of Bitcoin or crypto.
Initially, Trump’s failure to fulfil two of his “Day One” pledges—Ulbricht pardon and SAB121 repeal—had left the crypto community deeply concerned they’d been duped by Trump. But within a few days he pulled through.
Now, with crypto’s wheels spinning across the U.S. government, the community can breathe a sigh of relief for now, as it seems that Trump’s administration has huge plans for crypto.
Eddie is a gaming and crypto writer at CCN. Covering the often weird and wonderful world of Web3 with an adoring, but skeptical eye.
Prior to CCN, Eddie has spent the past seven years working his way through the crypto, finance, and technology industry. He began with PR and journalism with Bitcoin PR Buzz and BitcoinNews.com, eventually working his way to become a copywriter with a dozen firms, including the likes of Polkadot before returning to journalism in 2023.
Having studied Radio production and journalism at University in the UK, Eddie spent a few years making podcasts and presenting on a local London radio station as he built up his writing chops.
A lifelong skateboarder, Eddie can often be found at the skatepark or touring the streets looking for something new to try. That, or kicking back playing JRPGs on his original PSP.
