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Trump plans pro-crypto orders in first few days in office

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Creating crypto council, repealing SEC guidance on the

table

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President-elect courted crypto backers hard on campaign

trail

By Gram Slattery, Chris Prentice and Jarrett Renshaw

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - President-elect Donald

Trump is planning to use his executive powers to reduce the

regulatory burden faced by cryptocurrency companies and promote

digital asset adoption in his first few days in office,

according to three people briefed on the plan.

Trump, who courted crypto cash on the campaign trail with

promises to be a "crypto president," is expected to sign an

executive order creating a crypto advisory council, an idea he

first floated in July, said two of the sources who requested

anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Bloomberg News first reported on Thursday that Trump was

planning to issue an executive order creating a crypto council,

which would help advise the government on crypto-friendly

policy. It could have as many as 20 members, according to one of

the sources.

Trump's advisers have also discussed using an executive

order to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to

rescind 2022 accounting guidance known as "SAB 121" that has

made it too costly for some companies, particularly banks, to

hold cryptocurrencies on behalf of third parties, the people

said.

Trump is also expected to order the end of "Operation Choke

Point 2.0," the term crypto executives use to describe what they

say has been a concerted effort by bank regulators to choke

crypto companies out of the traditional financial system by

directing banks to deny them services.

Bank regulators deny that such an effort exists.

Reuters could not ascertain if Trump would direct the

changes via one or several executive orders, but sources said

the goal was to quickly send a strong signal that the new

administration broadly supports digital asset adoption.

If implemented by the relevant regulators, Trump's expected

policy directives have the potential to push cryptocurrencies

into the mainstream, say regulatory and crypto experts.

That is in stark contrast to President Joe Biden's

regulators which, in a bid to protect Americans from fraud and

money laundering, cracked down on crypto companies, suing

exchanges Coinbase, Binance, Kraken and dozens more in federal

court.

Critics of the cryptocurrency industry point to the downfall

of leading crypto executives Sam Bankman-Fried, who was

sentenced to 25 years for fraud, and Binance founder Changpeng

Zhao, who briefly went to prison for money laundering

violations, as evidence of the industry's dangers.

A representative for Trump, who counts multiple crypto

advocates among his financial backers and top cabinet picks, did

not immediately respond to a request for comment. The SEC did

not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Cryptocurrency regulation is just one of several topics that

Trump is expected to address with executive orders in the

opening days of his second four-year term.

The incoming president's team has promised dozens of

executives orders on topics ranging from energy production to

illegal immigration.