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From red tape to green light
US regulatory shake-up signals new era for digital assets
Amidst the throes of political turmoil and uncertainty in the US, a beacon of light has materialised for the financial sector as President Trump and the newlook leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission( SEC) moved quickly to unpick the shackles that have held back institutional involvement in the digital asset space. The early days of Trump 2.0 have been punctuated by a number of prodigital asset measures, as the returning President sets out on his mission to make the US great again the“ crypto capital of the planet”. Within the first four days of taking office, an Executive Order was issued and President’ s Working Group( PWG) established to“ support the responsible
As the new US administration takes bold steps to reshape the regulatory landscape for digital assets, the financial services industry sits poised for transformative change, writes Chris Lemmon.
growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology”, and a crypto task force was established to develop a“ comprehensive and clear regulatory framework” for the market. Perhaps the most notable action for incumbent custodians came as the controversial SAB 121 directive – which has hamstrung US custodians looking to operate in the sector since 2022 – was axed with immediate effect. Fast forward a few weeks, and the
White House played host to the first ever‘ crypto summit’, where leaders from the digital asset sector discussed, among other things, the establishment of a strategic crypto reserve. On the same day, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency( OCC) published Interpretive Letter 1183, which stipulated that crypto-asset custody, certain stablecoin activities, and distributed ledger network participation are now permissible for financial institutions.
28 Global Custodian Spring 2025