The United States releases a report to strengthen its leadership in cryptocurrency

The U.S. government has released a milestone cryptocurrency policy report aimed at strengthening America's leadership in the cryptocurrency space.

On July 30, the White House published a 166-page report titled "Strengthening America's Leadership in Digital Financial Technologies," which outlines a national strategy to position the U.S. as a global leader in blockchain, cryptocurrency markets, and tokenized finance.

Although the report covers a wide range of digital asset policy areas, it does not mention how much Bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds, nor does it provide new details on whether the government will actively purchase Bitcoin. It merely reiterates the statements made in President Trump's January executive order, without listing subsequent steps or an implementation timeline.

Earlier that day, according to Wall Street Insight, the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision ultimately did not change the policy rate as expected in July, while Powell did not provide guidance on a rate cut in September, emphasizing the uncertainties surrounding tariffs and inflation, stating that the job market has not weakened, and Bitcoin fell 2.5% from its intraday high. Although Bitcoin's price rebounded after the report was released, it remains in a downward trend.

Details of the White House Report: Seeking Regulatory Clarity

While the report released by the White House is extensive, its core content is aimed at providing the industry with a clearer legislative and regulatory framework, with key recommendations including legislative, regulatory, and tax aspects.

Legislative Aspects:

• Propose that Congress legislate to confirm individuals' rights to transfer crypto assets without intermediaries and to store them in self-custody wallets;
• Authorize Congress to prohibit Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs);
• Protect software developers building decentralized trading methods;
• Clearly grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) the authority to regulate the spot market for non-securities digital assets.

Regulatory and Tax Aspects:

• Recommend that federal banking regulators adopt technology-neutral risk management measures to avoid discrimination against legitimate crypto businesses.
• Require the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS to issue new tax guidance on specific transactions (such as staking) and design simpler reporting rules for digital asset exchanges.
• Call on Congress to amend tax laws to include digital assets in wash sale rules and securities lending provisions.

The issuance of this report stems from an executive order signed by President Trump in January, which established a cross-departmental working group on emerging technologies such as digital assets and artificial intelligence.

This 166-page document was led by David Sacks, the White House's head of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence affairs, and Executive Director Bo Hines, integrating the views of the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)