US President Donald Trump today signed an Executive Order (EO) related to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, titled “Strengthening US Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.” This executive office officially prohibited the creation and issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the United States, and defined a CBDC as “a form of digital money or monetary value, denominated in a national unit of account, that is the direct responsibility of a central bank.”
“Except to the extent required by law, the agencies are hereby prohibited from taking any action to create, issue, or promote central bank digital currencies within the jurisdiction of the United States or abroad,” the order said. Announce. “Except to the extent required by law, any ongoing plans or initiatives at any agency relating to the creation of a central bank digital currency within the jurisdiction of the United States will be terminated immediately, and no further actions may be taken to develop or implement such plans or initiatives.”
The new executive office will also establish a presidential working group to establish a federal regulatory framework governing digital assets (including stablecoins), and evaluate the creation of a strategic national stockpile of digital assets.
“The working group’s report shall take into account provisions relating to market structure, supervision, consumer protection and risk management,” the order said. “The working group should evaluate the feasibility of creating and maintaining a national stockpile of digital assets and propose standards for creating such a stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies that have been lawfully seized by the federal government through law enforcement efforts.”
The EO defines the term “digital asset” as any digital representation of value that is recorded in a distributed ledger – which may include cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, digital tokens and stablecoins.
The stock is expected to include or be entirely in Bitcoin. Last summer at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Donald Trump pledged to create a national strategic stockpile of bitcoin using bitcoin already held by the government and obtained from hacks and seizures. According to Arkham Intelligence DataThe United States currently holds 198,109 bitcoins worth over $20.1 billion.
BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Donald Trump pledges to never sell #Bitcoin And keep it as a strategic reserve asset in case a president is elected pic.twitter.com/bbPRxlZfGZ
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) July 27, 2024
After Trump’s speech at the conference, US Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced legislation to create a strategic reserve for Bitcoin as well, but in a different way. Her bill would require the US government to purchase 200,000 bitcoins per year, for 5 years, until it purchases a total of 1,000,000 bitcoins. However, this legislation must pass through the House and Senate before it reaches the president’s desk for final approval.
So far, President Trump has kept his word regarding the Bitcoin-related promises he made during his campaign. Earlier this week, President Trump issued a full, unconditional pardon to Bitcoin pioneer and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, which Trump pledged to achieve in addition to creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve, banning central bank digital currencies, creating a working group/advisory council, and more.
Full details of the Executive Order can be found here here.