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Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images
Crypto has long thrived in the gray zone between innovation and oversight. As US policymakers push for structure, the industry faces a moment that could unlock scale, capital, and global relevance.
Following multiple conversations with industry leaders and perspectives from my work with the Crypto Council for Innovation, a global alliance of leading crypto industry organizations dedicated to advancing innovation and advocating for responsible, inclusive regulation of digital assets worldwide, there is a turning point: upcoming frameworks that will guide crypto’s next phase.
Reframing US Crypto Policy toward Regulatory Clarity
Three days into his second term, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order. The January 23 “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology” order rescinds a 2022 directive issued under President Joe Biden. It overturned a 2022 Biden-era directive, replacing a primarily enforcement-led posture with a new strategy focused on proactive governance. In an unprecedented move on March 6, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Funded with seized Bitcoin from criminal cases, the reserve won’t be sold but held as a long-term strategic asset.
The SEC reorganized its crypto oversight efforts into the “Cyber and Emerging Technology Unit,” a pivot toward long-term rulemaking, and launched a task force to develop a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework.” SEC Chair Hester Peirce said the goal is to allow businesses the “freedom to experiment and build interesting things”. In April, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche ordered the immediate disbanding of the Department of Justice’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). The decision, outlined in a four-page memo titled “Ending Regulation By Prosecution” on April 7, marks a clear break from the previous administration’s approach.
The GENIUS Act, proposed first in February 2025, is Washington’s first serious attempt to bring stablecoins—the “digital dollars” quietly powering crypto markets—under a clear, federally backed regulatory framework (US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 2025). At the time of writing, roughly $243 billion in stablecoins were circulating globally, over 90% dollar-denominated. The bill proposed strict reserve, audit, and transparency standards for stablecoins, banning claims of government backing. Though the GENIUS Act didn’t pass in May 2025, it sparked rare bipartisan momentum and paved the way for future consumer-focused crypto legislation.
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