Special alert: regulation of digital assets / cryptocurrency

March 2025

The new administration summoned the first “summit of cryptography”, chaired by AI & Crypto Czar and the director of the president’s working group on digital assets. The main areas of discussion included legislation / regulation, financial innovation and economic opportunities. Public comments related to regulatory issues included:

• Newly announced decree establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve
• End of “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” focused on cryptographic / digital assets and related innovation
• Current Congress efforts to introduce legislation intended to provide a regulatory certainty to a Stablecoin and digital assets supported in dollars
• The direction of the Treasury Secretary to the OCE to cancel and / or modify all the previous directives applicable

After the meeting, the occurrence published the letter of interpretation 1183 to reaffirm that the custody of Crypto-Asset, the big book distributed and the activities of Stablecoin, as indicated in the previous letters of interpretation published in 2020 and 2021, are authorized to national banks and federal savings associations. The new letter of interpretation also cancels a requirement according to which the institutions supervised by the West must receive the non-object of supervision and demonstrate that they have adequate controls in place before being able to engage in these cryptocurrency activities.

Note: Linked actions and attack at the top of the White House cryptography include:

• The day before the Crypto Summit, the administration published the executive decree, establishing the Bitcoin strategic reserve and the stocks of digital assets of the United States, which orders the reserve and the storage of being capitalized with Bitcoin and other digital assets, respectively, which were forfeits within the framework of criminal or civil procedures. The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce must develop strategies which are “neutral budget” strategies to acquire additional bitcoin; No other digital assets will be acquired, except through procedures for confiscating criminal or civilian assets or satisfaction of the sanction in civil money imposed by an agency without “other executive or legislative action”.
• Executive command 14178, strengthening American leadership in digital financial technology, which sets out a policy to support the growth and use of digital assets, among others, “providing regulatory clarity and certainty based on neutral regulations of technology, executives that take into account emerging technologies, transparent decision -making and regulatory limits of well -defined jurisdiction.” “(See KPMG regulatory alert, here.)
• The formation of a bicameral working group in the congress, made up of members of the Senate Banking Committee, the Chamber’s Financial Services Committee and Senitary Committees and Chamber’s Agriculture, to “build a consensus around a regulatory framework for digital assets”.
• A variety of dry actions, including:
  • Training of a new dry crypto working group and a complementary cyber unit and emerging technologies (replacing ancient cryptographic and cyber assets). In addition, the crypto working group has:
    • Asked public comments on 48 questions about a variety of subjects, including security, public offers, custody, trade, cryptographic loans and token titles.
    • Planned with a series of round paintings – spring sprinter towards the clarity of cryptography – in the areas of interest in the regulation of cryptographic assets. (Note: the CFTC has launched a series of public round tables separately on trends and innovation in the structure of the market to include digital assets.)

  • Determination to abandon surveys and take a break / to close pending prosecution against several cryptographic companies, signaling a change with the objective of the application of laws.
  • Récise du Sec Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121 – Financial report for companies protecting digital assets.