March 5 (UPI) — The Trump administration is closing investigations into cryptocurrency marketplaces as President Donald Trump seeks to grow the United States’ footprint in the digital asset space.
Trump has taken several actions meant to signal his deregulation of cryptocurrency while calling for the United States to build a digital stockpile, moves that experts expect may lead consumers to be more comfortable investing in digital assets.
“Certainly at the moment the expectation is we are going to get a clearer regulatory framework. A more permissive regulatory approach,” William Luther, associate professor of economics at Florida Atlantic University, told UPI. “So individuals who may have otherwise been hesitant to purchase or use cryptocurrency will see that the government is more favorable to these assets than it was previously. That will give them a bit more confidence to enter into this space.”
Regulations and enforcement
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped two key cases against cryptocurrency marketplaces since Trump has taken office.
Last week, the SEC agreed to drop charges against Coinbase for allegedly illegally selling securities, according to Coinbase. The company, a cryptocurrency exchange marketplace, said in a statement that it was a case that “should never have been filed in the first place.”
Robinhood Cryptocurrency announced that the SEC was ending its investigation into the company over potential violations of securities law. Like Coinbase, Robinhood said in a statement that the investigation should not have happened.
“Robinhood Crypto always has and will always respect federal securities laws and never allowed transactions in securities,” Dan Gallagher, chief legal, compliance and corporate affairs Officer for Robinhood Markets, said in a statement. “As we explained to the SEC, any case against Robinhood Crypto would have failed.”
Both investigations were launched under the administration of former President Joe Biden, but Luther explains that Trump and Biden’s policies as they relate to cryptocurrency are not all that different.
“It’s not that the prior administration was opposed to crypto to the extreme,” he said. “Even Gary Gensler, when he was at the SEC, wasn’t stamping out cryptocurrencies. He even indicated at times that some of the things that they were trying to do to limit the reach of cryptocurrency, particularly to retail users, wouldn’t apply to assets like Bitcoin, which he described as not being a security.”
Gensler, the chair of the SEC under the Biden administration, was often characterized as aggressive when it came to enforcing regulations on cryptocurrency firms. His focus on the asset was primarily in mitigating fraud and penalizing fraudsters.
Cryptocurrency is the most common form of payment fraudsters are paid with in ransomware attacks, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, an arm of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Trump has nominated Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the SEC. Atkins is a former co-chair at the cryptocurrency advocacy group the Token Alliance.
Embracing crypto
In his remarks from Miami last week, Trump said he is committed to making America the “crypto capital.” His Jan. 23, executive order suggests he is interested in spurring along the adoption of digital assets in the United States and establishing a government stockpile.
Trump has commissioned the establishment of the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, charging it with identifying regulations, proposing regulatory frameworks and evaluating the potential creation of a national digital asset stockpile.
The government has long held cryptocurrencies, at least relative to the history of their existence. It has acquired cryptocurrencies by seizing them through its enforcement efforts, much like it has acquired cash, cars and other goods.
“Make no mistake. The U.S. government owns crypto because that’s what criminals have been using,” Aaron Klein, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told UPI. “Just like the U.S. owns some Ferraris too.”
Biden similarly commissioned research into cryptocurrency, directing the Federal Reserve to explore whether the government should create its own cryptocurrency in 2022.
Months later, the Federal Reserve came back with a recommendation for the government to explore creating a cryptocurrency that it referred to as a digital dollar.
“Innovation is one of the hallmarks of a vibrant financial system and economy,” then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “But as we have learned painfully from the past, innovation without appropriately addressing the impact of these developments can result in significant disruptions and harm to the financial system.”
The Trump Administration is not yet following up on this recommendation. In fact it is moving in the opposite direction. As part of Trump’s executive order, he has prohibited the Central Bank or any agency from establishing, issuing or promoting a digital currency in the United States or abroad.
$TRUMP
Hours before taking the oath of office, Trump launched a meme coin called $TRUMP. A meme coin is an often volatile form of cryptocurrency derived from internet memes.
Trump’s coin experienced an almost immediate spike in value after launching but has collapsed since. With its initial spike it was trading as high as $31. The current value is a fraction of a cent, down more than 97% since launching.
First lady Melania Trump also launched a coin just as Trump was taking office. $MELANIA has also plummeted in value since launching. A coin was worth about $2 when it launched and is now worth about $0.85.
The first family’s venture into cryptocurrency as they moved into the White House raises immense ethical concerns, Klein said.
“It’s a five-alarm bell fire,” he said. “There’s massive fraud in the meme coin space. Whatever the actual details of the Trump meme coin turn out to be, giving the appearance of legitimacy of a meme coin to the president-elect gives the impression that he is prioritizing his own wallet over the good of society.”
A chief ethical concern in a president, or president-elect, launching a new business venture is that it creates a conflict of interest. The president is uniquely positioned to have a direct impact on the business they own or are invested in. This is why presidents have historically divested from their business dealings while in office.
Trump has refused to do so. In 2017, again days before taking the oath of office, Trump announced he would not divest from the Trump Organization, a company that holds a majority of his investments and various business ventures.
Argentina is reckoning with an ethics conundrum involving its president and cryptocurrency as well. President Javier Milei has been accused of fraud for allegedly promoting the cryptocurrency $Libra.
Milei argued that he did not endorse or promote $Libra after sharing a link to a website that sells it in February.
“The world wants to invest in Argentina,” Milei said in the post sharing a link the cryptocurrency marketplace.
Following Milei’s alleged endorsement, the value of $Libra grew from a fraction of a cent to nearly $5 before falling. It is valued at a fraction of a cent again. Milei’s political opponents in the Argentine National Congress have called for him to be impeached.
Milei’s actions demonstrate the influence a president can have on the cryptocurrency trade, an influence Trump exercised when launching his meme coin. Likewise his broader embrace of cryptocurrency through policy and public comments signals to consumers that the United States is a crypto-friendly environment.
“When the president of the United States promotes an asset it tends to move the needle for people to buy it,” he said.
Subscribe to Knox News: Local journalists covering local stories
Knox News journalists cover the important moments in Knoxville. Support local journalism by subscribing.
Nonprofits and cryptocurrency donations are increasingly being used to put old-fashioned money in the bank.
Cryptocurrency valuations over time are such that more nonprofits are opening up to accepting crypto and converting it to cash, or holding on to it for hoped-for long-term value increases.
Principal factors that have held back nonprofits’ acceptance of crypto donations are uncertainty about how it works, valuation volatility, tax implications and regulatory considerations. But the strains on traditional fundraising and the potential gain nonprofits can realize from crypto are driving them to explore — or accept — this nontraditional funding source. Other issues are not having a vehicle in place to accept crypto, and many nonprofits as regards crypto haven’t updated their internal investment policies and donation acceptance policies.
Crypto’s name is based on combining cryptography (encrypted codes) with currency. There is no government central bank or other authority creating crypto. An internet artificial intelligence overview explains crypto creation as follows, and don’t be surprised if it seems almost a foreign language: “Cryptocurrency is created through decentralized digital processes, primarily mining or validation, rather than being minted by a central bank. New coins are generated as rewards for securing the blockchain network, verifying transactions, and solving complex mathematical problems, using specialized computer hardware.”
Crypto valuation has something in common with the plush toys called Beanie Babies. Beginning in 1993, Beanie Babies were a craze for a short time. As the idea of a collectible toy spread, demand grew; scarcity and restrained production drove costs higher. Long lines formed at stores so the newest ones could be grabbed as they went on shelves. Today, many Beanie Babies can be bought on eBay for $5.99, though some rare, mint-condition Babies sell for thousands. Why the high and the low? That’s what people are willing to pay.
Basically, crypto has value because it’s believed and accepted to have value. Key valuation factors include supply and demand and crypto’s controlled, decentralized nature outside the traditional fiat currency structure. There are many forms of crypto; Bitcoin, the largest crypto variation, has seen spectacular gains in value as well as encountering substantial valuation declines.
Bitcoin debuted in 2009 with essentially no value. On Oct. 6, 2025, Bitcoin reached its high-water mark of $126,198.07. At 2 p.m. on March 11, Bitcoin was at $70,268.35. Bankrate.com explains Bitcoin’s value driver: “The price of Bitcoin is notoriously driven by sentiment. When the market shifts to its ‘greed’ phase, Bitcoin soars amid the utopian promises and speculators dismiss the risks of an asset that generates no cash flow. In the ‘fear’ phase, Bitcoin’s price seems to find no traction, as sellers push its price lower amid bad news or general market malaise.” In short, Bitcoin, or any crypto, is worth what the buyer will pay.
The IRS treats crypto as a digital asset, along with stablecoin (stable because it’s tied to stable assets like gold or the U.S. dollar) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs, one-of-a-kind cryptographic tokens on a blockchain, that can’t be replicated.) Nonprofits receiving crypto donations must treat them for tax purposes as property donations rather than currency donations. The IRS’s “Frequently asked questions on virtual currency transactions” page lists IRS notices and links to pages dealing with crypto’s tax implications.
A nonprofit with crypto donations can’t go down to the bank and hand them to a teller to cash in the donations. Financial institutions use third-party processors, just as a nonprofit would use an exchange or processor to make the conversion. The National Council of Nonprofits provides a detailed look at crypto donations and conversion in “What Your Nonprofit Needs to Know About Cryptocurrency Donations.”
Nonprofits can seek to convert their crypto donations to cash as soon as the donation is in hand. If Bitcoin, the amount, even if well off the high, will still likely be substantial. Other types, not so much. The question confronting every nonprofit looking at a crypto donation is whether to sell or buy and hold? The decision depends substantially on the organization’s immediate needs — and if they’re willing to bet the value will increase — because that’s what it is, a bet.
Nonprofits are best advised to seek the advice of accounting or finance professionals fluent and experienced in cryptocurrency language and disposition strategies, and who walk nonprofit leaders through the substance of crypto merits and demerits. The outcome will give a stronger basis for decisions on if, when and how much money from a crypto donation will actually go into the bank.
Samuel French is president of the accounting and business consulting firm Rodefer Moss & Co. PLLC, headquartered in Knoxville. The company’s website is rodefermoss.com.
The kit ships in two configurations. In the first, developers set up a dedicated wallet built specifically for AI agent activity, where users define permissions upfront, and the agent can run automated strategies like dollar-cost averaging, limit orders, and price alerts, without asking for approval on every transaction.
In the second configuration, an AI agent connects to a user’s existing Trust Wallet through Walletconnect, proposes transactions, and waits for the user to approve them before anything moves. The firm notes that the user’s custody stays intact throughout.
The release follows Trust Wallet’s Developer Portal, which opened last week with read-only access to crypto data across more than 100 blockchains, including live prices, token metadata, and onchain risk signals. The Agent Kit extends that foundation by adding the ability to act, not just observe.
At launch, supported networks include Ethereum-compatible chains, Solana, Bitcoin, BNB Chain, Cosmos, TON, Aptos, Tron, NEAR, and Sui. Trust Wallet says that coverage makes it the broadest chain-compatible AI wallet infrastructure currently available.
The kit integrates with Model Context Protocol (MCP), the standard developers use to connect AI systems to external platforms, and is available through a command line interface. According to the company’s announcement, a developer can go from account creation to a working AI agent in under 15 minutes.
Out-of-the-box features include token swaps, limit orders, automated strategies, ENS resolution, ERC-20 approvals, message signing, portfolio tracking, wallet auto-lock, and a REST API for deeper integrations.
Felix Fan, CEO of Trust Wallet, remarked in a statement that AI agents need a trusted layer before they can safely act on a user’s finances. The Agent Kit, he said, gives developers the tools to build agents that execute on real wallets within rules the user sets.
Trust Wallet, which reports more than 220 million downloads, describes its broader goal as becoming the self-custody infrastructure for AI-powered finance, a foundational layer that lets AI participate in crypto workflows without users surrendering ownership of their assets.
The company plans to bring AI features directly to end users inside the Trust Wallet app over the coming months, with in-wallet insights, automated strategies, and personalized alerts. A separate Agent Marketplace is also on the roadmap, where developers can publish reusable agent strategies and trading bots for users to deploy directly from their wallets.
Trust Wallet’s development arrives as a growing number of crypto firms roll out services and features tailored to the emerging agentic economy. Since the debut of Openclaw, interest in AI agents has accelerated profoundly, with companies such as Circle, Binance, Coinbase, and a myriad of others unveiling tools and infrastructure focused squarely on this evolving segment.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KCRG) – Cedar Falls city officials postponed a public hearing on zoning and code changes needed for a proposed power plant and cryptocurrency mining operation.
The hearing was pushed back to April 22 amid concerns from residents about environmental impacts and utility costs.
Cedar Falls Utility and Simple Mining, the company behind the cryptocurrency operation, say their projects will not negatively impact the public or the environment. Residents at Tuesday night’s meeting showed skepticism about those claims.
People are concerned about noise levels and water and electricity usage. Simple Mining says its crypto mining will use a closed loop water cooling system, which will allow the operation to use very little water. The company also says it can be shut down quickly when energy rates are higher.
Matt Hein, Simple Mining Director of Energy Infrastructure, said the company’s energy usage is a benefit to Cedar Falls.
“Our large consumption of electricity is an economic benefit to the city of Cedar Falls,” Hein said. “We help pay for schools, we help pay for roads.”
People worry high energy usage will push their utility bills up.
Cedar Falls Utility says the power plant was planned for years before the crypto operation became part of the picture.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Drummer Brian Pastoria, longtime Detroit music advocate, dies at 68
How a Melting Glacier in Antarctica Could Affect Tens of Millions Around the Globe
I had to man up and get a mammogram
‘Youth’ Twitter review: Ken Karunaas impresses audiences; Suraj Venjaramoodu adds charm; music wins praise | – The Times of India
IOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi
Clovis shooting leaves one dead, four injured
Disney’s new CEO says his focus is on storytelling and creativity
YouTube job scam text: How to spot it fast
