Will the U.S. Become the Crypto Capital of the World? Trump Administration and America’s Credit Unions Weigh In

By W.B. King

In early March 2025, President Donald Trump exclaimed on Truth Social that he will “make sure the U.S. is the crypto capital of the world.” On July 21, Trump Media and Technology Group, owned by President Trump, furthered this pledge when it announced it bought approximately $2 billion in bitcoin and related securities. The organization has since been reformed as an investment firm.

“We're rigorously implementing our publicly announced strategy and fulfilling our bitcoin treasury plan. These assets help ensure our company's financial freedom, help protect us against discrimination by financial institutions, and will create synergies with the utility token we're planning to introduce across the Truth Social ecosphere,” Trump Media's CEO and President Devin Nunes said.

The First Major Cryptocurrency Legislation Passes

In late July, the President also signed the “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025” (GENIUS) Act into law (after it passed with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives). This marked the first major cryptocurrency legislation.

According to the White House, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) will regulate stand-alone stablecoin issuers. The Federal Reserve, FDIC and NCUA, however, will regulate institutions they currently oversee that issue stablecoins.

While the GENIUS Act is considered an important first step by industry leaders, Congress is still debating how to determine oversight between SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. What this means for traditional financial institutions like credit unions and banks remains somewhat uncertain. America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Jim Nussle, though, said the bill was “a significant milestone that rightfully grants credit unions who wish to provide access to payment stablecoins the full authority to issue them under the supervision of the National Credit Union Administration.”

Immediate Action Requested for Credit Unions

In a July 21, 2025, letter to NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman, America’s Credit Unions’ Head of Regulatory Advocacy James Akin called for immediate crypto rule making that would align with the GENIUS Act.

“America’s Credit Unions appreciates your consistent leadership in the field of digital assets, including resources provided to credit unions on the NCUA website. Those resources laid crucial groundwork, and the recently enacted GENIUS Act now provides a clear mandate, and an historic opportunity, for the agency to build on that progress,” he noted.

“To capture that promise, credit unions must also be able to safeguard members’ digital assets directly. We therefore urge the NCUA to move quickly to begin rulemaking that will permit credit unions to provide digital-asset custody in a safe and sound manner, consistent with the Act’s one-year implementation horizon. Time is of the essence: banks have had additional clarity as regards cryptocurrency since 2021, providing them with a distinct competitive advantage,” Akin wrote.

He added: “Credit unions, limited by less expansive guidance, now risk losing members to less consumer-focused providers unless the agency swiftly authorizes direct custody, extending federal oversight, leveraging credit unions’ cooperative, prudently managed model, and ensuring members can keep digital assets with institutions they already know and trust.”