The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is launching an operation called “encrypted sprint” aimed at implementing the recommendations of the recent White House Digital Asset Report. “CFTC is making every effort to realize President Trump's vision of the United States as the world's home of encrypted currency.” In an official statement, the Acting Chairman of the CTC, Pham, stated that “the provision of regulatory clarity and the promotion of innovation in the digital asset market now will fulfil the Government's commitment to the era of encrypted gold”.
Last week, President Donald Trump ' s Digital Asset Markets Working Group released a broad report that paved the way for promoting innovation while introducing encrypted money into the mainstream financial system in the United States. This 168-page report calls on Congress to confirm that individuals can trust their own encrypted currency without having to broker it, and urges regulators to identify encryption-related activities that banks can undertake, covering a wide range of topics, such as currency stabilization and taxation.
With particular reference to CFTC, the report recommended that the Commission be given jurisdiction over the off-the-shelf market for encrypted assets classified as large commodities and, in cooperation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to provide clear guidance to digital asset users and enterprises in the course of transactions or registration.
Although the latest CFTC “encrypted sprint” bulletin does not specify which recommendations will be implemented by the Commission, acting Chairman Pham indicated that he would work closely with SEC to achieve “project encryption”. The project, which is also based on the White House report, aims to modernize securities rules and regulations to facilitate chain migration in the financial system. In particular, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that the Agency would work on drafting rules on encrypted distribution, hosting and transactions.
These recent developments stand in stark contrast to the more conservative and often ambiguous attitudes of previous Governments towards encrypted currencies, which are often subject to calls from industry stakeholders for clearer policy guidance.