As comprehensive regulatory legislation remains gridlocked in the Senate, the Trump administration is actively advancing the cryptocurrency industry through executive actions. During a White House meeting with crypto executives on Wednesday, President Trump urged Congress to break the deadlock over the CLARITY Act, which has stalled due to disputes over ethics provisions aimed at preventing government officials from profiting from digital assets.
Trump called on industry leaders to collaborate with regulators to move the sector forward. The meeting drew roughly two dozen attendees, including Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Mike Selig, the chief executives of Coinbase and Robinhood, as well as Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
In parallel, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is accelerating its regulatory timeline. Acting Comptroller Jonathan Gould announced at the Wyoming Blockchain Summit on Wednesday that plans are underway to finalize federal stablecoin rules by November, with the agency set to begin processing crypto licensing applications in January. This upcoming framework stems from the GENIUS Act, passed in July 2025, which established the first federal regulatory structure for stablecoins—digital tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar, backed one-to-one by high-quality liquid assets such as cash and short-term Treasuries.
On August 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C., President Trump addressed a gathering of crypto and tech leaders in the Roosevelt Room, with attendees including Kraken CEO Arjun Sethi, SEC Chair Paul Atkins, CFTC Chair Michael Selig, NYSE Chair and ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher, and Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman. The President met with crypto industry leaders to discuss regulatory frameworks for digital assets and artificial intelligence.
Currently, the landmark CLARITY Act—which would clarify SEC and CFTC jurisdiction over digital assets—remains stalled in the Senate. Analyst Jaret Seiberg, commenting on the OCC's forthcoming rules, noted: "This is critical for payment stablecoin issuers," adding that the rule could prove favorable for banks. The OCC has proposed preventing stablecoin companies from exploiting loopholes to pay interest to users.
"We are moving at a very fast pace," Gould said at the Wyoming Blockchain Summit. "We greatly appreciate the feedback received on the proposal... We have heard you, and we will make adjustments in the final rule based on some of that feedback." Gould noted that over the past 18 months, the OCC has received 40 new bank charter applications, with more than half involving some form of digital asset activity—an eightfold increase compared to the previous administration.
"Incorporating payment stablecoins and other elements into the business plans currently submitted for OCC consideration is becoming standard practice," Gould stated. "Cryptocurrency is part of banking, and we have ensured that through our actions—whether in chartering or through legal interpretations," he added.
The OCC's momentum aligns with a broader regulatory shift in Washington. This week, the SEC also proposed rules allowing startups to raise capital through tokens without triggering traditional securities registration. "This is positive for the crypto space and long-awaited," said TD Cowen's Seiberg. "It not only provides a roadmap for using tokens to raise capital but also guidance on how tokens lose their security status once a project becomes decentralized."