U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order that aims to establish a friendlier regulatory environment for digital assets in the country, directing his administration to craft policies that will lay a solid foundation for the sector, including the potential establishment of a “digital asset stockpile.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rescinded a controversial accounting rule that required financial firms holding cryptocurrencies for customers to list them as liabilities on their balance sheets.

Cross-chain decentralized finance protocol THORChain has temporarily halted bitcoin and ether withdrawals from its lending and savings programs to mitigate a potential insolvency risk.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Trump Issues Executive Order to Foster Crypto Growth in the U.S.
• SEC Rescinds Contentious Crypto Accounting Rule
• THORChain Halts Bitcoin and Ether Withdrawals Amid ‘Restructuring’ Effort

Trump Issues Executive Order to Foster Crypto Growth in the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order that aims to establish a friendlier regulatory environment for digital assets in the country, directing his administration to craft policies that will lay a solid foundation for the sector, including the potential establishment of a “digital asset stockpile.”

The order stipulates that Americans engaged in cryptocurrency-related activities will be protected from persecution, provided their actions are “for lawful purposes.” To oversee the implementation of these policies it establishes a new working group chaired by David Sacks, Trump’s crypto and AI czar.

The working group will include key figures from federal agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In 30 days, the group has to identify existing regulations affecting crypto, and it has 60 days to recommend revisions or rescind these, and 180 days to file new recommendations.

While the order does not establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, it directs the working group to “evaluate the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile.”

The order also bans any work on a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) and revokes a 2022 executive order on cryptocurrency issued by former President Joe Biden, while intruding the Treasury Department to revoke its digital asset framework from that order.

SEC Rescinds Contentious Crypto Accounting Rule

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rescinded a controversial accounting rule that required financial firms holding cryptocurrencies for customers to list them as liabilities on their balance sheets.

The recision, revealed in a new Staff Accounting Bulletin, effectively “rescinds the interpretive guidance” of SAB 121, a directive issued in March 2022 that asked financial firms holding crypto on behalf of customers to report the assets as liabilities. 

The cryptocurrency industry pushed back against it, arguing it would create undue administrative burdens and discourage institutional involvement in the sector. 

THORChain Halts Bitcoin and Ether Withdrawals Amid ‘Restructuring’ Effort

Cross-chain decentralized finance protocol THORChain has temporarily halted bitcoin and ether withdrawals from its lending and savings programs to mitigate a potential insolvency risk.

The decision, implemented by network node operators during the early Asian trading hours, follows growing concerns within the community about its financial stability. The temporary suspension is part of a 90-day “restructuring” plan to reduce issues with savers and lending programs.

The insolvency potential stems from a hypothetical scenario in which all loans and savings positions are simultaneously closed and repaid, and if market sentiment were to lead to a correction in the price of RUNE.

THORChain mints RUNE and sells it into liquidity pools to meet its lending obligations and as the community became increasingly concerned with potential risks, it halted deposits a year ago. 

The protocol’s cross-chain swaps, its core functionality, remain operational as users can continue to execute swaps and use liquidity pools without disruptions.

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