Compiled by: Felix, PANews
Since President Donald Trump requested the establishment of a digital asset market working group in January and the submission of a report outlining digital asset regulatory framework recommendations, this report has been highly anticipated. Some crypto enthusiasts even claimed that this report would become the industry's "regulatory Bible" or guide.
Now this "regulatory Bible" has finally been released. The government led by President Donald Trump released the most detailed digital asset policy report on Wednesday (July 30), with statistics showing that this 166-page digital asset report mentions cryptocurrency 391 times, Bitcoin 130 times, DeFi 32 times, and Ethereum 28 times.
The report outlines a broad regulatory roadmap for cryptocurrencies, proposing policy recommendations covering multiple crypto-related areas. These can be primarily divided into five categories:
1. Positioning the United States as a Leader in the Digital Asset Market
The working group recommends that Congress should enact the following legislation based on the bipartisan House vote on the CLARITY Act:
Authorize CFTC to regulate spot markets for non-security digital assets to eliminate existing regulatory gaps.
Embrace DeFi technology and recognize its potential for integration into mainstream finance.
SEC and CFTC should utilize their existing powers:
Immediately initiate digital asset transactions at the federal level and clarify registration, custody, trading, and record-keeping issues for market participants.
Enable innovative financial products to benefit consumers without bureaucratic delays through tools like safe harbors and regulatory sandboxes.
2. Modernizing Digital Asset Bank Regulation
The report states that the Trump administration has completely terminated the "Choke Point Operation 2.0" and is committed to ending regulatory measures that refuse banking services to the digital asset industry. The working group recommends that regulators take the following additional steps:
Restart crypto innovation, clarifying permissible bank activities in custody, tokenization, stablecoin issuance, and blockchain applications.
Increase transparency in the process of obtaining bank licenses or reserve bank main accounts.
Ensure bank capital rules align with the actual risks of digital assets, not just their existence on a distributed ledger.
3. Strengthening the US Dollar's Position
The Treasury and banking institutions should faithfully and quickly implement the GENIUS Act.
Congress should take further action by passing the Anti-Central Bank Digital Currency Monitoring State Act to codify the presidential order prohibiting US central bank digital currencies to protect privacy and civil liberties.
4. Combating Illegal Finance in the Digital Age
The Treasury and relevant regulatory agencies should clarify Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) obligations and reporting.
Congress should emphasize the importance of self-custody and clarify anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing obligations for participants in the DeFi ecosystem.
Regulators should strive to prevent abuse of power targeting law-abiding citizens' legitimate activities and protect citizens' privacy.
5. Ensuring Fairness and Predictability of Digital Asset Taxation
The Treasury and IRS should issue guidelines on CAMT, wrapped transactions, and digital asset minimum income to reduce taxpayer burden.
The Treasury and IRS should review previous guidelines on tax treatment of activities like mining and staking.
Congress should enact legislation treating digital assets as a new asset class, modify tax rules applicable to securities or commodities under federal income tax regulations, and add digital assets to the list of assets subject to wash sale rules.
After the report's release, the industry generally viewed it as a positive signal of Trump's crypto agenda.
Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Ji Kim stated: "The release of the Presidential Working Group's digital asset report marks a unified government effort to ensure the US remains at the forefront during the crypto golden age. From DeFi, tokenization, market structure, CIF, taxes—the report covers everything. We now have clear regulatory guidelines to ensure continued growth".
Jito Labs legal counsel Rebecca Rettig also affirmed the report, believing that "Although much work remains, this excellent roadmap provides guidance for truly achieving regulatory transparency in the US crypto industry".
However, it's worth noting that despite being a "major victory" for the crypto industry, the report did not reveal new initiatives or provide deep explanations of specific policy measures, leaving some unresolved questions, including those related to the future scale of federal government crypto reserves. An official at the press conference stated that the report focuses on the regulatory framework rather than reserves and more information should be published soon.
Additionally, the report acknowledges that Congress has not yet passed the market structure bill, which imposes many restrictions on the industry. This bill would establish a more comprehensive regulatory mechanism for cryptocurrency issuance and the operation of exchanges like Coinbase. Although the report encourages SEC and CFTC to provide clearer explanations for key functions like registration, custody, and trading, many market participants will remain in uncertainty while Congress continues to debate legislation.
While this report may have "fallen short of expectations," perhaps, as US officials said, "they have laid a solid foundation for building this house."
