WASHINGTON, D.C.— Better Markets issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s executive order on digital assets:

“The Trump administration is repeatedly proving to the American people just how much damage can be done in a year and how broad that damage can be. One year ago – just three days after his inauguration – Trump signed an executive order on digital assets that has set off a series of actions by the financial regulatory agencies (now effectively de-regulatory agencies) that are undermining our economy, financial markets, and consumer protections. Some of the most consequential actions are:

• The Fed eliminated its teams that monitored crypto-related risks at banks, which has opened the door for banks to initiate a host of unregulated crypto activities;
• The Fed is moving to give crypto companies access to its payments network, which puts our entire payments system at risk;
• The SEC dropped enforcement actions that would require crypto companies to provide investors with the disclosures needed to navigate an industry rife with fraud, despite having previously won almost 100% of its crypto cases;
• The SEC launched “Project Crypto,” an initiative that makes it easier to sell crypto to retail investors, despite the fact that crypto has cost retail investors billions of dollars in losses due to crashes;
• The SEC categorized meme coins as “collectibles,” rather than securities, despite the fact that people have lost their life savings buying meme coins as an investment;
• The CFTC permitted crypto products geared towards retail investors to trade on CFTC-registered exchanges, despite not providing protections for retail investors; and
• The CFTC allowed crypto to be used as a down payment in derivatives market transactions, despite crypto’s volatility making it unsuitable for use as collateral.”

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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.