Trump’s giant crypto report summarized

The following is by Mesh Head of Legal, Steve Aquino
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Just days into his second term, President Trump established the Working Group on Digital Asset Markets—a policy team tasked with modernizing crypto oversight. From the start the Group has had a clear mandate: Make proposals that would position the U.S. as the global leader in digital finance.
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The proposals have now arrived in the form of a lengthy report, which delivers 166 pages (!) of policy recommendations spanning everything from taxation to illicit finance.
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Since you may not have the time to wade through an entire novella of a policy paper, I’ve gone through page by page to provide a rundown of the six main proposals.

1) Self-custody should be a protected right

Since crypto exists to give people control over their own money, Americans should have the right to freely custody their assets.

Regulators must protect peer-to-peer transactions, and developers must be allowed to build self-custody solutions with clear regulatory guidance.

2) The SEC should change its approach

The SEC should use its exemptive and rulemaking powers for innovation, not enforcement.
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That means, for example, establishing an “innovation exemption” for certain businesses to grow without going through costly registration processes.

3) Policymakers should continue to encourage bank participation

Policymakers should build on recent progress to ensure banks can confidently provide services to crypto firms.
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That means, for example, giving banks clearer guidance on best practices for custody, balance sheet treatment of digital assets, asset tokenization, stablecoin reserves, and use of permissionless blockchains.

4) Agencies should act fast on the GENIUS Act

Every executive agency that falls within the scope of the GENIUS Act should implement it quickly and faithfully.
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This is the only way the stablecoin ecosystem can reach its full potential, and it has the added benefit of advancing U.S. dollar dominance.

5) Financial crime reporting needs an upgrade

Lawmakers should modernize anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing measures.
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One way would be to revise the dated “Suspicious Activity Report”, a standard form used to report suspicious or illegal activity to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The new form should capture information more relevant to crypto.

6) The tax code must be brought up to speed

Taxes should be overhauled to recognize digital assets as a new asset class.
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The IRS should also tailor its guidance to include things like staking, mining, lending, NFT sales, and charitable deductions.

Closing thoughts

These proposals grow out of the notion that crypto will, in the Working Group’s own words, “revolutionize not just America’s financial system, but systems of ownership and governance economy-wide.”
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Indeed, if lawmakers embrace the Working Group’s vision, they’ll lead a transformation that extends well beyond America’s borders.
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