One of the former key White House Advisors to former President Biden shared some reactions to Trump’s new executive order on digital assets released last Thursday. Carole House, outgoing National Security Council Special Advisor for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure as well as the primary architect of former President Biden’s executive order on digital assets, saw similar objectives with Trump’s new policies as well as some deficiencies on critical issues impacting digital assets.
“I’m glad to see similarities with many objectives in [Biden’s] first executive order, to include underscoring the importance of promoting technological innovation and competitiveness in digital assets to reinforce the centrality of the U.S. in the financial system,” said House.
With respect to where Trump’s version of digital asset policy fell short, House stated, “This EO does not focus on addressing key challenges and opportunities presented by digital assets on certain key areas like national security threats, protecting consumers and investors, or outlining specific steps to support innovation or R&D in digital assets or broader digital payments experimentation.”
According to House, it will be critical to see how Trump’s executive order addresses “…the very real threats exploiting and misusing digital assets in activities like cybercrime, fraud and human and narcotics trafficking.”
Meanwhile, David Sacks, President Trump’s incoming White House ‘Crypto Czar’, touted Trump’s executive order on Fox Business while sharing some harsh words for the Biden Administration’s approach to digital assets. “For the last four years, the Biden administration has basically prosecuted and persecuted crypto companies, really driving them offshore,” Sacks stated. “I’ve heard so many outrageous stories by founders, by entrepreneurs, the Biden administration would not tell them what the rules of the road were, and they would then get prosecuted,” proclaimed Sacks.
Nonetheless, House touted the progress made with Biden’s executive order on digital assets such as the creation of R&D priorities and the first-ever national competitiveness framework for digital assets. “Given the transnational nature of these technologies and areas like financial stability, geostrategic competition, and countering illicit finance, policymakers will need to consider how to best work with key international partners to drive needed evolutions and experimentation in digital finance and assets,” said House.
Under Trump’s new executive order, a digital assets working group will be chaired by Sacks and includes U.S. agency leaders such as Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Commerce. Stakeholders around the world will be watching closely to see how this Administration will shape the future of digital assets.
