State of Crypto: Trump’s Second First Week

Donald Trump is officially the 47th President of the United States, and the U.S. government is going in some different directions from the last administration. You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions. The narrative U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn into office on Monday and quickly signed a flurry of executive orders. While it took him a few days to get to crypto-specific items, we've seen a number of actions from his administration already — not to mention the broader Republican Party. Why it matters These agencies and Congressional bodies' initial actions set the tone for what we can expect as the new Congress and administration really get going this year. Breaking it down There'll be time to go more into detail on some of these later, but for now: White House/Administration Donald Trump signed a highly-anticipated executive order on crypto. Among its provisions are items that: Create a working group composed of Cabinet officials, White House advisers and others tasked with identifying regulations that address crypto and recommending whether they be changed. AI and crypto czar David Sacks will chair this working group. Task the working group with evaluating a digital asset stockpile. Ban any central bank digital currency, with a somewhat broad definition of a CBDC. Revoke former President Joe Biden's executive order on crypto, which mostly just directed his Departments to craft reports about various aspects of crypto and consumer protections. Trump also announced that Sacks would co-chair his President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, now operating under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, formed a crypto-focused task force headed up by Commissioner Hester Peirce. Trump previously named Paul Atkins as his pick to serve as the agency's chair, once he's confirmed by the Senate. One of the SEC's first moves was to rescind Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, which directed publicly traded companies holding crypto for their clients to mark those holdings on their own balance sheets. SAB 121 was strongly opposed by the crypto industry, which argued that it made it more difficult for banks to provide certain crypto services. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is now operating under Acting Chair Caroline Pham. Pham named CFTC Senior Policy Advisor Harry Jung as the regulator's lead for crypto industry engagement. Trump has not yet named a nominee to take over as permanent chair. Trump pardoned Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, saying on Truth Social that he did so "in honor of [Ulbricht's mother] and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly." Ulbricht was convicted on criminal enterprise, narcotics distribution and various conspiracy charges and sentenced to double life in prison and 40 years with no parole. Trump announced he would rename the existing U.S. Digital Service as his Department of Government Efficiency, the entity headed up by Elon Musk (Vivek Ramaswamy, who was previously a co-head, has now left to run for Ohio governor). Initially, the entity's website just had the Dogecoin logo on it. Companies are also filing for dogecoin exchange-traded funds now. Trump spoke with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele shortly after signing his crypto executive order, though an official readout of the call did not mention crypto in any form. Senate The Senate Banking Committee has confirmed the creation of a subcommittee focused on digital assets, led by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). The subcommittee's other members include freshmen Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who unseated former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) with $40 million worth of support from crypto political action committee Fairshake, Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who received $10 million worth of support and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), among others. The Banking Committee is also holding a hearing on Feb. 5, though the specific time and witness list have yet to be announced. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a joint Congressional Review Act resolution alongside House Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio) to overturn the IRS' recent crypto broker rule. The rule, finalized late last month, defines the term "broker" for IRS tax reporting purposes, but has already drawn a lawsuit from the Blockchain Association. The industry lobbyists argue the final rule "puts unlawful compliance burdens on software developers." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the new lead Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, is also asking the U.S. Office of Government Ethics to look into the TRUMP token. She sent an open letter co-signed by Massachusetts Representative Jake Auchincloss. House of Representatives The House Oversight Committee sent out a letter announcing it would investigate whether banks de-banked crypto companies at the government's behest. The House Financial Services Committee has already scheduled two hearings on crypto next month. The first, on Feb. 6, 2025, will focus on the aforementioned debanking. The second, set for Feb. 11, is titled "A Golden Age of Digital Assets: Charting a Path Forward." The leading Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Gerry Connelly, asked the panel's leading Republican, Rep. James Comer, to probe Trump's issuance of the TRUMP coin and his ties to World Liberty Financial. Tuesday 16:00 UTC (9:00 a.m. MT) The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Custodia Bank's ongoing case against the Federal Reserve. (Sam Curry) Some security researchers discovered they could track and control certain Subaru cars (i.e. ones connected to the internet). The vulnerability has been patched, per the writer of this. (Bloomberg) Walgreens spent $200 million replacing refrigerator doors with screens whose vendor is now in a legal fight with the pharmacy/convenience store chain. If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at [email protected] or find me on Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social. You can also join the group conversation on Telegram. See ya’ll next week!

Donald Trump is officially the 47th President of the United States, and the U.S. government is going in some different directions from the last administration.

You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions.

The narrative

U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn into office on Monday and quickly signed a flurry of executive orders. While it took him a few days to get to crypto-specific items, we’ve seen a number of actions from his administration already — not to mention the broader Republican Party.

Why it matters

These agencies and Congressional bodies’ initial actions set the tone for what we can expect as the new Congress and administration really get going this year.

Breaking it down

There’ll be time to go more into detail on some of these later, but for now:

White House/Administration

Donald Trump signed a highly-anticipated executive order on crypto. Among its provisions are items that:

Create a working group composed of Cabinet officials, White House advisers and others tasked with identifying regulations that address crypto and recommending whether they be changed. AI and crypto czar David Sacks will chair this working group.
Task the working group with evaluating a digital asset stockpile.
Ban any central bank digital currency, with a somewhat broad definition of a CBDC.
Revoke former President Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto, which mostly just directed his Departments to craft reports about various aspects of crypto and consumer protections.

Trump also announced that Sacks would co-chair his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, now operating under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, formed a crypto-focused task force headed up by Commissioner Hester Peirce. Trump previously named Paul Atkins as his pick to serve as the agency’s chair, once he’s confirmed by the Senate.

One of the SEC’s first moves was to rescind Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, which directed publicly traded companies holding crypto for their clients to mark those holdings on their own balance sheets. SAB 121 was strongly opposed by the crypto industry, which argued that it made it more difficult for banks to provide certain crypto services.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is now operating under Acting Chair Caroline Pham. Pham named CFTC Senior Policy Advisor Harry Jung as the regulator’s lead for crypto industry engagement. Trump has not yet named a nominee to take over as permanent chair.

Trump pardoned Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, saying on Truth Social that he did so “in honor of [Ulbricht’s mother] and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly.” Ulbricht was convicted on criminal enterprise, narcotics distribution and various conspiracy charges and sentenced to double life in prison and 40 years with no parole.

Trump announced he would rename the existing U.S. Digital Service as his Department of Government Efficiency, the entity headed up by Elon Musk (Vivek Ramaswamy, who was previously a co-head, has now left to run for Ohio governor). Initially, the entity’s website just had the Dogecoin logo on it. Companies are also filing for dogecoin exchange-traded funds now.

Trump spoke with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele shortly after signing his crypto executive order, though an official readout of the call did not mention crypto in any form.

Senate

The Senate Banking Committee has confirmed the creation of a subcommittee focused on digital assets, led by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). The subcommittee’s other members include freshmen Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who unseated former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) with $40 million worth of support from crypto political action committee Fairshake, Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who received $10 million worth of support and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), among others.

The Banking Committee is also holding a hearing on Feb. 5, though the specific time and witness list have yet to be announced.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a joint Congressional Review Act resolution alongside House Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio) to overturn the IRS’ recent crypto broker rule. The rule, finalized late last month, defines the term “broker” for IRS tax reporting purposes, but has already drawn a lawsuit from the Blockchain Association. The industry lobbyists argue the final rule “puts unlawful compliance burdens on software developers.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the new lead Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, is also asking the U.S. Office of Government Ethics to look into the TRUMP token. She sent an open letter co-signed by Massachusetts Representative Jake Auchincloss.

House of Representatives

The House Oversight Committee sent out a letter announcing it would investigate whether banks de-banked crypto companies at the government’s behest.

The House Financial Services Committee has already scheduled two hearings on crypto next month. The first, on Feb. 6, 2025, will focus on the aforementioned debanking. The second, set for Feb. 11, is titled “A Golden Age of Digital Assets: Charting a Path Forward.”

The leading Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Gerry Connelly, asked the panel’s leading Republican, Rep. James Comer, to probe Trump’s issuance of the TRUMP coin and his ties to World Liberty Financial.

Tuesday

16:00 UTC (9:00 a.m. MT) The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Custodia Bank’s ongoing case against the Federal Reserve.

(Sam Curry) Some security researchers discovered they could track and control certain Subaru cars (i.e. ones connected to the internet). The vulnerability has been patched, per the writer of this.
(Bloomberg) Walgreens spent $200 million replacing refrigerator doors with screens whose vendor is now in a legal fight with the pharmacy/convenience store chain.

If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at [email protected] or find me on Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social.

You can also join the group conversation on Telegram.

See ya’ll next week!

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Around half of SNP voters back nuclear power in energy mix – poll

Roughly half of the SNP’s voters believe nuclear power should be part of Scotland’s mix of clean energy generation, a poll suggests, despite the party’s longstanding opposition to it.Polling for the campaign group Britain Remade found 52% of those who voted for the party in 2021 believe nuclear power should be included in Scotland’s energy mix to meet the 2045 net zero target.
Meanwhile, 57% of those who voted for the party in last year’s general election felt the same way, the poll found.
A total of 56% of Scots thought nuclear power should be part of Scotland’s clean energy mix to meet the targets, while 23% disagreed, and 21% said they did not know.
Opinium surveyed 1,000 Scottish adults between April 22 and 25.
Britain Remade describes itself as a grassroots campaign for economic growth.
Founder Sam Richards said: “The message from our polling is clear: when it comes to safe and reliable nuclear power, the SNP is not just out of step with the majority of Scots – they’re at odds with a huge number of their own supporters.
“It’s time for the SNP to stop saying ‘no’ to new nuclear and start listening to the people, the experts, and the communities who know what’s at stake.
“Investing in a new generation of nuclear power is not just critical if Scotland is to hit its 2045 net zero target – it is essential for Scotland’s economy. Grangemouth could be transformed by SMR (small modular reactor) technology, but the SNP’s opposition is standing in the way.”
Scotland nuclear energy
Scotland has one remaining active nuclear reactor, at Torness in East Lothian, which is due to shut down in 2030.
Last week the deactivated Hunterston B power station was declared “nuclear free” as all fuel elements were removed ahead of decommissioning.

Hunterston B nuclear power station in Ayrshire, which was due to be decommissioned in 2016, has had its operational licence extended until 2023Credit: James Williamson

Labour MSP Martin Whitfield said: “If we don’t act soon to end this ideological opposition, Scotland will lose its nuclear energy capacity entirely, damaging jobs and the economy, including East Lothian.
“A Scottish Labour Government will end the block on new nuclear, delivering zero carbon nuclear energy, kickstarting economic growth and bringing significant investment into East Lothian and the rest of Scotland.”

Conservative MP John Lamont said: “It’s absolutely ridiculous for the Nationalists to ignore the majority of Scots who support the use of more nuclear power, especially since it is clean energy that doesn’t harm the environment.”
However the SNP argued nuclear power projects remain too expensive to be a viable alternative to renewable power.
MSP Bill Kidd said: “Our focus is delivering a just transition that supports communities and creates long-term economic opportunities to build a truly sustainable future.
“Nuclear remains one of the most costly forms of energy with projects like Hinkley Point C running billions over budget and years behind schedule.
“In contrast, Scotland’s net zero transition is already delivering thousands of green jobs across energy, construction, innovation, and engineering. This number will continue to grow.
“Simply, renewables are cheaper to produce and develop, create more jobs, and are safer than nuclear as they don’t leave behind radioactive waste that will be deadly for generations.
“While Labour funnels billions into slow, centralised projects, the SNP is focused on creating real, sustainable jobs in Scotland now.”

Synaptec aims to tackle million pound wind farm cable problem

Glasgow-based Synaptec has developed new technology designed to tackle the issue of cable failures on offshore wind farms that can cost operators millions.The company’s Greenlight provides automated monitoring of the joints and terminations in a cable network, delivering early warnings of emerging faults before they become failures.
The system is based on Synaptec’s Distributed Electrical Sensing (DES) technology, which was Synaptec previously deployed on the latest phase of the Dogger Bank wind farm.
Cable failures are a major issue facing offshore wind farms, with a single fault in transmission networks and offshore wind developments capable of costing up to £1m per day in lost revenue.
Allianz, the insurer for UK offshore wind projects including Dogger Bank and East Anglia Three, warned that damage to cables is the main cause of offshore wind insurance claims, accounting for 53% of claims across its global portfolio from 2014-2020.
Around 70% of these failures originate in the joints and terminations rather than the cables themselves.
The Global Underwater Hub (GUH) recently launched a forum to tackle rising costs and reliability issues facing subsea cable systems on the UK’s offshore wind farms.
Synaptec vice-president of applications, Dr Steven Blair, said: “Greenlight gives operators control over the most unpredictable and expensive aspect of offshore cable operations and maintenance.
“It’s a system designed not just to collect data, but to deliver clear, early, and location-specific insight that finds the early warning signs of failure.

“The return on investment is immediate – it pays for itself the first time it pre-empts an issue that would otherwise shut down a wind farm.”
Synaptec has made the first commercial installations of Greenlight with offshore wind operators and transmission systems internationally. There are plans for further large-scale installations throughout 2025.
The firm previously raised £6.5m in funding last year, with participation from Megger Group, Proserv, and Equity Gap.
The company aims to use the funds to support its expansion, including the development of new manufacturing facilities in Scotland.
The company had previously said that it aims to increase its revenues fourfold in the next two to three years, along with doubling its headcount as it takes advantage of the 24.4GW pipeline of floating offshore wind capacity off Scotland’s shores.