Potential candidates for Donald Trump's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets have emerged, with leading crypto executives vying for spots on the advisory council. Figures such as Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and Circle's Jeremy Allaire are reportedly in the running, though the final list remains uncertain.

Trump's executive order establishing the council was seen as a major shift in the US government's stance on digital assets. The order also calls for research into a strategic digital asset reserve-potentially including Bitcoin-while explicitly banning the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The advisory group will include officials from key government agencies, such as the Treasury and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but will exclude personnel from the Federal Reserve and the FDIC. The decision was welcomed by crypto advocates, who have accused these institutions of stifling the industry. Meanwhile, the FDIC recently released hundreds of pages of documents revealing its scrutiny of crypto firms, further fuelling debate over regulatory policies.