Jan. 24 (UPI) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that would possibly create a national digital asset stockpile for the first time along with promoting the advancement of cryptocurrencies.
Once a critic of crypto assets like Bitcoin, Trump became a fan of the digital currency on the campaign trail during his last election and named David Sacks, a venture capitalist, as the country’s first crypto and artificial intelligence czar after he was elected.
“By the authority vested in me as president by the Constitution and the laws of the United States and America, and in order to promote United States leadership in digital assets and financial technology while protecting economic liberty,” Trump said in the executive order.
The executive order said the administration would support responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies; and protect and promote the ability of individual citizens and private-sector entities to access and use for lawful purposes open public blockchain networks.
The executive order establishes the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets to strengthen U.S. leadership in digital finance and develop a federal regulatory framework governing digital assets.
The working group would be led by Sacks and include the Treasury secretary, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the heads of other “relevant” departments and agencies.
The White House said despite its interest in cryptocurrencies, it does not want to bog it down with regulations.
“The growth of digital financial technology in America must remain unhindered by restrictive regulations or unnecessary government interference,” the White House said.
