The President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets (PWG) was established by Executive Order 14178, Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology, and directed to submit a report to the President within 180 days recommending regulatory and legislative proposals to support responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy. The PWG report on Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology, released July 30, 2025, proposes recommendations related to market structure, banking, stablecoins and payments, countering illicit finance, and taxation.
The below analysis focuses on the PWG recommendations for digital asset guidance and legislation on digital asset market structure.
Key Takeaways
- The U.S. must act proactively to provide regulatory certainty, competitive advantage, and consumer/investor protection by clarifying rules for digital assets.
- A clear, flexible, and function-based taxonomy is critical, backed by strong federal oversight (SEC for securities-like, CFTC for commodity-like, and tailored regimes for commercial/consumer tokens).
- Immediate and longer-term recommendations focus on safe harbors, exemptions, modernization, tailored registration, cybersecurity, and robust disclosure—plus coordination internationally and with accounting standards setters.
- The report urges legislative action to cement the U.S. as the global leader for digital asset markets, innovation, and governance.
