Crypto industry braces for incoming White House 'regulatory Bible' on rules, bitcoin reserve, and taxes

The White House is slated to release a report on Wednesday, expected to reveal details on how federal officials view cryptocurrency and lay out recommendations for lawmakers.

Cody Carbone, CEO at The Digital Chamber, called it a "regulatory Bible," or a guidebook.

"I do think it is a big deal because this will dictate every rulemaking or guidance document that comes out over the next three and a half years," Carbone said in an interview with The Block.

The report is part of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January that created the President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins are among other members of that group. As part of the executive order, they were tasked with submitting a report that laid out recommendations for a regulatory framework for digital assets.

That report will help fill in the gaps as lawmakers in Washington pass and work on legislation to regulate the crypto industry, Carbone said. And lawmakers are moving relatively quickly to pass that legislation. In mid-July, House lawmakers passed a stablecoin bill that later went to Trump's desk for his signature, and also passed legislation that would regulate the crypto industry at large, which still needs to be contemplated with the Senate's version. Senate Republicans have set their sights on Sept. 30 to get a vote on their bill .

The report could include agencies' plans to issue or rescind past guidance, Carbone added.

"I'm hoping that this drives a lot of legislative efforts going forward and fills in those gaps in the near term just to give the industry the clarity of where they can and cannot act or operate," he said.

Not set in stone

The President's Working Group was also tasked with assessing the creation of a digital asset stockpile.

Trump proposed creating a digital asset stockpile and a strategic bitcoin reserve in March through an executive order. At the time, Trump had tasked Lutnick and Bessent to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided that those strategies have no incremental costs to American taxpayers.

Carbone said nothing was "set in stone" in terms of the reserve and stockpile, but said the administration was prioritizing it.

"I'm hoping that this report tomorrow will shed some light on some of those strategies that the administration has promised," Carbone said, including how the administration plans to acquire bitcoin in a budget-neutral way and what a stockpile will include.

A source familiar with the matter said so far, there seems to be nothing in the report that talks about the reserve, but said that could change on the fly.

A 'milestone'

In a letter to the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets Bo Hines, The Digital Chamber had several asks, including tax changes and creating a framework for tokenized securities.

"Tax clarity is number one," Carbone said. "I really think that needs to be one of the most foundational portions of this report and where Washington leans in."

A briefing is set for around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Carbone said, with some members of the working group and industry members including himself, but it is unclear whether the report would be released before or after that meeting.

Others in the crypto industry highlighted the significance of the anticipated report. Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger called the incoming report a "milestone."

“We look forward to the release tomorrow of the President's Working Group on Digital Assets report, a significant milestone following this year's executive order on digital assets," Mersinger said in a statement to The Block.

Ron Hammond, head of policy and advocacy at Wintermute, said the incoming report is being viewed as a "fulfillment of President Trump's campaign."

"While most of the actions have been agency or Congress driven, the White House’s prioritization of crypto has been evident," Hammond said.