Analysis-Trump agencies to set crypto policy as bill stalls, limiting industry’s gains - WKZO

With comprehensive crypto legislation stalled in Congress, the task of setting digital asset policy is falling to federal agencies under the Trump administration. This shift means the direction of the market will now be determined by regulatory actions—such as rulemaking, guidance, and enforcement—rather than a single piece of congressional legislation.

For the industry, the outcome is a more fragmented environment. A congressional bill would have offered clear statutory definitions and a unified framework. Agency-driven policy, by contrast, tends to develop piecemeal, with different regulators asserting jurisdiction over different aspects of the digital asset markets. This uncertainty limits the industry's gains by making it harder for firms to plan long-term with confidence.

What to watch now is the priority of each agency involved. Signals include rulemaking agendas, public statements from agency heads, and the tone of enforcement actions. These indicators will reveal whether the administration's approach is supportive or restrictive, but absent a new law, the market will have to operate on this agency-by-agency basis for the foreseeable future.