(Dateline) WASHINGTON D.C. – President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing federal financial regulators to streamline rules within 90 days, a move aimed at opening Federal Reserve payment systems to digital asset companies.
"The Federal Government must update regulations to allow integration of digital assets and innovative technology into traditional financial services and payment systems," Trump stated in the order, which targets "overly burdensome and fragmented regulations" that benefit incumbent banks.
The order gives the Federal Reserve a 120-day deadline to report on its legal authority to grant non-bank financial firms, including crypto companies, direct access to its payment services. If existing law permits access, the Fed is instructed to establish transparent application procedures and render decisions within 90 days of receiving a complete application.
This directive could fundamentally alter the structure of the U.S. financial system, a change that would lower costs and reduce reliance on intermediary banks for major crypto firms like Coinbase, Circle, and Ripple. The order sets a mid-August deadline for reviews by the SEC, CFTC, FDIC, OCC, and other agencies.
The move was praised by industry participants who have long sought a pathway to the nation's core financial infrastructure. Custodia Bank founder Caitlin Long, whose firm lost a 2023 court battle for a Fed master account, has been a vocal critic of what she terms a blockade against legally-eligible institutions.
The order follows the Federal Reserve's recent, more tentative steps to engage with the digital asset sector. In March 2026, the Kansas City Fed granted a "limited purpose account" to Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken. Other firms, including Ripple, remain in the application pipeline, and the new executive order could accelerate their path.
"This is a concrete step towards putting the U.S. at the forefront of digital asset adoption," said Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, framing digital asset dominance as an "American strategic interest."
The push for financial innovation was paired with a separate executive order focused on combating illicit financial activity. That order directs the Treasury to issue advisories on money laundering, payroll tax evasion, and the use of individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) to obtain credit without verified legal presence. It specifically highlights the risks of extending credit to non-work authorized individuals, citing potential impacts on the "ability-to-repay" standards.
Together, the orders present a dual-pronged strategy: fostering innovation within a regulated crypto space while simultaneously tightening know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements elsewhere in the financial system. The coming months will reveal how quickly regulators can translate the directives into actionable rule changes.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
