The Trump Administration at Bitcoin 2026

The Trump administration offered a show of force on the first day of Bitcoin 2026, with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins all appearing.  Senator Cynthia Lummis, a long-time Bitcoin supporter, also spoke.  Several common themes were recurring throughout the remarks:

• The current administration’s reversal of the prior administration’s regulation-by-enforcement strategy;
• The emphasis on interagency coordination to create a framework that allows for innovation while addressing and targeting bad actors; and
• The importance of passing the CLARITY Act to “future-proof” the digital asset industry in the United States.

We summarize below some of the key comments from the administration officials and Senator Lummis.

Acting Attorney General Blanche

• Blanche identified his April 7, 2025 “Ending Regulation by Prosecution” memorandum as the pivotal change representing the current administration’s approach to the digital asset industry.  Blanche explained that the DOJ views enforcement or prosecution without established rules and regulations as unfair but confirmed that the DOJ remains focused on bad actors operating in and exploiting the digital asset industry.
• Although Blanche noted that specific facts and circumstances matter, and that there are circumstances, such as violations of U.S. sanctions, where liability may be broader, he stated that a digital asset industry developer who does not have knowledge or involvement in third party criminal activity generally should not expect to be prosecuted.

FBI Director Patel

• Patel emphasized that the FBI is focused on investigating bad actors exploiting the digital asset industry.  Patel highlighted the DOJ’s and FBI’s recent action against scam centers in Asia.

CFTC Chairman Selig

• Selig highlighted the CFTC’s and SEC’s Project Crypto initiative, which began with the Memorandum of Understanding in early 2026 and includes the SEC’s and CFTC’s recent joint Digital Asset Taxonomy, as a mechanism for the creation of a unified regulatory framework.
• Selig pointed to the CFTC’s recent no-action letter to the developer of self-custodial digital asset wallet software indicating that the CFTC will not require such developers to register as “introducing brokers” as an example of the CFTC’s efforts to reduce regulatory friction for digital asset industry developers.
• Selig emphasized the need for legislation to prevent policy reversal under a future administration.

SEC Chairman Atkins

• Atkins explained that the list of tokens the SEC and CFTC classified as digital commodities—and not securities—in their recent Digital Asset Taxonomy is not exhaustive, but rather intended to be instructive of the SEC’s and CFTC’s approach to digital asset classification.
• Atkins provided some insight into how the SEC is applying the Supreme Court’s 1946 holding in SEC v. Howey, which provides the operative test for what is an “investment contract” subject to the federal securities laws from a case involving the sale of land and service contracts on Florida citrus groves.  Atkins distinguished digital assets—which he analogized to the oranges in Howey—from the kind of set of promises necessary for an investment contract.
• Atkins indicated that the SEC will soon announce movement on tokenized equities trading and on-chain fundraising through token sales.

Senator Lummis

• Lummis announced that she expects the Senate to mark up the CLARITY Act in May, describing it as legislation needed to create a durable market structure for the digital asset industry, including Bitcoin, which she called a “freedom asset.”

Recordings of the panel with Acting Attorney General Blanche and FBI Director Patel, the question-and-answer sessions with CFTC Chairman Selig and SEC Chairman Atkins, and Senator Lummis’s keynote address are available here, here, here, and here, respectively.