Crypto movement in Trump’s first 100 days: ‘Personnel is policy’

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FDR had an eventful first 100 days after promising various reforms to combat effects of the Great Depression. 

We’re in no way comparing Franklin to Donald, but we’ll keep up the political watchdog tradition of recapping a president’s initial actions within such a timeframe (and we’ll focus on crypto).

Clearly the president’s rhetoric and tariff policies have spurred market shocks that have impacted crypto prices. 

But which actions and appointments have had/are set to have a longer-term impact on the asset class? And what’s left on the agenda? Here goes.

First came the controversial TRUMP memecoin. Then, it took just three days after Inauguration Day for Trump to introduce his crypto-focused executive order.

“The organization of an interagency Working Group and a clear imperative from the White House to prioritize stablecoin legislation suggests the legislative endgame is near,” said Troutman Pepper Locke partner Alexandra Steinberg Barrage. (More on legislation later).

As we moved into March, we got an executive order for a strategic bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile. The industry reaction was mixed. 

Looking ahead, another executive order to watch for might be one addressing Federal Reserve master account access for crypto players, Steinberg Barrage noted. 

A few days after the reserve/stockpile order came the White House crypto summit — marking a milestone for the industry, but lacking substance. 

Trump’s first crypto bill landmark came when he signed H.J. Res. 25 into law last month — nixing an IRS rule that opponents argued burdened DeFi players with unrealistic reporting requirements. 

Let’s move on to note what Trump has appeared to facilitate more indirectly. After all, as Foley & Lardner partner Patrick Daugherty told me, “Personnel is policy.”

Thus, he argued, Trump’s picks to lead the SEC and CFTC — Paul Atkins and Brian Quintenz, respectively — have been his two most impactful crypto decisions so far. 

“[The SEC] favors rulemaking and interpretation, rather than enforcement, as [its] primary regulatory tools,” explained Daugherty, who is also an adjunct digital assets law professor at Cornell and Northwestern.

Most of the SEC’s actions (rescinding SAB121, ending lawsuits) are covered here. Remember the agency’s roundtable on tailoring regulation for crypto trading? And there was a custody-focused one last week.

Looking ahead, the SEC is likely to address the uncertain application of the Howey and Reves cases to digital assets, the need for more crypto custodians, and the potential to revise what Daugherty called “rearguard disclosure mandates” that hinder registration.    

“‘Come in and register’ must become a realistic opportunity rather than a false promise,” the law firm partner said.

As for the CFTC, it must gear up for the bigger role it will have in overseeing the industry, Daugherty noted. Quintenz, who has been working as a16z crypto’s policy head, “will assure alignment between the two agencies,” he added.

Seeing what Trump’s administration has done already in its first three-plus months, industry players continue to ask for more. 

As the last line of a Monday DeFi Education Fund letter to crypto czar David Sacks notes: “The job’s not finished, and the stakes could not be higher.”

That letter was about what it called “unlawful DOJ overreach” in the prosecution against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm. 

“No one writing code in good faith should have to fear prosecution for the actions of strangers,” they wrote.

Daugherty said he expects Sacks — tasked with leading crypto and AI efforts — to “promote these two high-tech industries as vehicles for economic growth in America, which is the foremost objective of the president’s economic program.”

The bigger elephants in the room? That would be the timeline around the market structure and stablecoin bills, which when finalized, will delegate detailed rulemaking to regulatory agencies.

“The main role for the White House is to assure coordination among the agencies and to prod reluctant senators and representatives to agree upon bills that the president can sign,” Daugherty said.

There’ll be plenty more to monitor in the next 100 days and beyond.

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