What has the Trump administration's crypto policy actually done?

The full answer

What did the first executive order do?

A White House fact sheet from May 2026 says that in his first week in office President Trump signed an executive order meant to secure the United States’ position as the world’s leader in the digital asset economy and to establish regulatory clarity for digital financial technology [1].

The White House fact sheet on the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets says the group was established by Executive Order 14178, “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.” It says the group consists of officials from across the federal government and was tasked with a report recommending regulatory and legislative proposals to advance the policies set out in the order [2]. The full text of the order was not reviewed for this page. Its signing date and detailed policy list are therefore not stated here.

What did the President’s Working Group report recommend?

A CFTC staff letter that cites the Working Group report dates it July 2025 [3]. The White House fact sheet on the report says the administration “has already ended Operation Choke Point 2.0 once and for all by working to end regulatory efforts that deny banking services to the digital assets industry” [2]. It says a banking framework that “embraces the promise of blockchain technology” would let depository institutions meet customer demand for core banking services for digital assets [2]. The Working Group recommends that regulators relaunch crypto innovation efforts to clarify permissible bank activities in custody, tokenization, stablecoin issuance and the use of blockchains [2]. The fact sheet also says the report embraces DeFi technology and recognizes the potential of integrating it into mainstream finance [2].

On bank capital, the trade publication The Industry Spread reports that the administration, through EO 14178 and the July 2025 report, rejected SCO60 and described its fixed 1,250% risk weight as “anti-innovation” and “anti-competitive.” The publication says the administration directed federal banking agencies to develop a risk-based framework [4]. The same publication describes SCO60 as the global treatment for banks’ cryptoasset exposures [4]. How those capital rules apply to XRP is covered in What rules govern lending against XRP, and how do bank capital rules treat it?.

Did the orders create a reserve, and is XRP in it?

CREW reported on July 10, 2025 that in March 2025 President Trump issued an executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile [5]. According to CREW, days before the order Trump posted on Truth Social that he intended to create a “U.S. Crypto Reserve” including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Cardano [5]. CREW says the final order created two separate bodies, one holding bitcoin and a second for other tokens [5].

The order says government bitcoin deposited into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve “shall not be sold” [6]. It tells the Treasury to run a “United States Digital Asset Stockpile” capitalized with digital assets other than bitcoin that Treasury owns through final criminal or civil forfeiture [6]. It allows strategies for acquiring more bitcoin only if they are budget neutral [6]. It bars the government from acquiring more stockpile assets, other than through forfeiture proceedings or civil money penalties, “without further executive or legislative action” [6]. It gave agencies 30 days to give Treasury and the Working Group a full accounting of their digital assets, and gave Treasury 60 days to deliver an evaluation of how to establish and manage the reserve and the stockpile [6].

CREW writes that neither Trump’s comments nor the order’s language clarify whether there was a strategy for selecting the specific tokens [5]. Whether the government actually holds or buys XRP is covered in Is XRP in the US reserve, and is the government buying or holding XRP?. Whether any policy names XRP or the XRP Ledger for a role is covered in Has the US government officially chosen XRP for any role?. The Truth Social post itself is examined in Why did Trump name XRP for a US crypto reserve?

Which agency actions actually followed the executive order, with dates?

July 18, 2025. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a statement when President Trump signed the GENIUS Act. He said stablecoins will buttress the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency and lead to a surge in demand for US Treasuries, which back stablecoins [7]. Bessent said the Act gives the stablecoin market regulatory clarity [7]. A CFTC letter says the Act takes effect on the earlier of January 18, 2027 or 120 days after federal banking regulators issue implementing regulations [3]. Its reserve rules are covered in What reserves must stablecoins hold under the GENIUS Act?

December 8, 2025. The CFTC’s Market Participants Division issued Letter 25-40 in response to a request from Coinbase Financial Markets [3].

February 6, 2026. In Letter 26-05, CFTC staff said they will not recommend enforcement action against a futures commission merchant that accepts payment stablecoins and other non-securities digital assets as customer margin collateral, subject to conditions [3]. The letter records that Coinbase’s request cited the Working Group’s July 2025 report [3].

May 2026. A White House fact sheet on an order titled “Integrates Financial Technology Innovation into Regulatory Frameworks” says the federal government must update its outdated regulations to allow integration of digital assets and other novel financial technology into traditional financial services and payment systems [1]. It says the order asks the Federal Reserve to evaluate the frameworks governing access to Reserve Bank payment accounts by uninsured depository institutions and non-bank financial companies [1]. The law firm Mayer Brown writes that the order declares it US policy “to streamline regulatory processes, reduce unnecessary barriers to entry” [8]. According to Mayer Brown, Section 3 directs federal financial regulators to conduct a review within 90 days and take steps to encourage innovation within 180 days, and the order asks the Fed for a report to the President within 120 days [8]. Mayer Brown says the regulator clocks began running on May 19, 2026, which creates deadlines in mid-August and mid-November 2026 [8]. What this means for bank custody is covered in Can US banks now hold and custody crypto like XRP?

Congress, 2026. Latham & Watkins reports that the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act 12-11 on January 29, 2026, and that the Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act 15-9 on May 14, 2026 [9]. The bill’s status and effect on XRP are covered in What happened to the CLARITY Act, and does it affect XRP?

Does US policy support public blockchains?

In the documents reviewed, support is stated in general terms. The Working Group fact sheet backs a banking framework that “embraces the promise of blockchain technology,” and it recommends clarifying bank use of blockchains [2]. The May 2026 fact sheet calls for integrating digital assets into traditional finance [1]. The January 2025 order’s exact language on public blockchain networks was not reviewed, so this page does not quote it.

What is the strongest case against reading this as settled support?

CREW’s analysis of nearly 120 executive branch financial disclosures found that nineteen White House officials owned between $875,000 and $2.35 million in the crypto assets Trump proposed for a national reserve [5]. CREW argues that those officials could profit if the reserve plan raised the assets’ value [5].

Latham & Watkins reports that the two Democrats who backed the CLARITY Act in committee said their votes did not guarantee support on the Senate floor without further progress. The main open issue they named was an ethics provision addressing government officials’ ties to the crypto industry [9].

Several of the actions are not law. The CFTC says Letter 26-05 represents the view of its division only, that the division can modify, suspend or terminate it, and that it expires once the Commission itself acts on digital asset collateral [3]. The March 2025 order also contemplates change through “further executive or legislative action” [6]. How a later government could undo these steps is examined in Could a future US government reverse XRP’s regulatory position?