(Reuters) – The crypto industry is pushing for an ambitious set of policies that would promote the widespread adoption of digital assets and considering who can best promote them as they anticipate a cryptocurrency-friendly regime under newly-elected President Donald Trump.
While crypto companies already expected a lighter approach with a new administration, Donald Trump’s decisive victory and an expected Republican victory in Congress pave the way for a dramatic and lasting overhaul of crypto policy. Trump has courted cryptocurrency with promises to become a “crypto president,” and industry executives say he now has a strong mandate to fulfill.
The industry is now pushing for action, including possible executive orders on crypto companies’ access to banking services and crypto-friendly choices in a range of roles, in addition to a new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), executives said.
“We’ve had an administration that has been very negative, and so we look forward to breaking that impasse,” said Mike Belshe, CEO of institutional crypto platform BitGo, which hosted a campaign fundraiser for Trump in July. “I think the voters of America have said very clearly that they want to see that.”
Bitcoin rose above $90,000 on Wednesday amid rising policy optimism, with some analysts predicting the world’s largest token could reach $100,000.
While some industry questions may happen quickly, such as pro-crypto nominees to financial regulators, others may take longer, such as passing legislation to create a regulatory framework for digital assets.
Trump has also promised to establish a crypto advisory board. While it is unclear who could sit on the council, crypto executives are brainstorming who to elevate to key leaders as they craft crypto policy in the new administration.
“Everyone in Washington is wondering and thinking about … who is going to run these agencies,” said Kara Calvert, head of U.S. policy at Coinbase. “I think it’s important for companies like Coinbase, but also for all the smaller startups… to have a point of view.”
Jonathan Jachym, global head of policy at crypto exchange Kraken, said the industry was considering who would be suitable for leadership positions to drive policy.
“Before the election, investors were already betting on options that the price of Bitcoin would rise above $80,000 or even $100,000, and the value of these bets has increased,” wrote Grzegorz Drozdz, analyst at Conotoxia, adding that the election outcome was mainly decisive the elections. those bets.
Under the Biden administration, the SEC and Treasury Department have cracked down on crypto companies for allegedly violating securities and anti-money laundering laws, while banking regulators discouraged lenders from getting into crypto, and Congress has failed to pass legislation that would help promote mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.
Now that Republicans rule Washington, that could all change.
The crypto industry expects Trump to make good on his July promise to create a strategic U.S. bitcoin reserve — one of his more ambitious promises that executives now see as a real possibility. “It legitimizes the asset class more,” said Marshall Beard, chief operating officer of Gemini, the crypto exchange whose founders, the Winklevoss twins, donated to Trump.
The industry also expects Trump’s banking regulators to take a softer stance on crypto. Many crypto companies are struggling to find banking partners amid scrutiny from regulators worried about the risks, especially after the collapse of crypto-friendly U.S. lenders last year.
Jachym said there had been “negative pressure” from banking regulators on crypto relationships, which could change if lawmakers create a new crypto framework.
Trump pledged in July that he would not allow banks to “choke” crypto companies out of the traditional financial system, and some executives speculated that the newly elected president could even address the issue with an executive order.
“Something like this from the White House could go a long way toward solving the problem,” said Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, a crypto trade group.
Earlier in the campaign, crypto companies had hoped that Trump’s new SEC chairman would create a waiver regime for crypto companies, but companies are now discussing pushing for faster ‘no-action’ letters that the agency could use immediately to let crypto companies go without fear operate. of retaliation, one director said.
Smith added that the industry is also preparing a new push for crypto-friendly laws. With Republicans expected to take the House of Representatives, they could advance spending bills with a simple majority vote — a process called “reconciliation” that often involves smaller issues piggybacking on spending bills that need to be passed. That could be “a way to get something done,” Smith said.
Coinbase and other cryptocurrency companies have spent more than $119 million backing pro-crypto congressional candidates, many of whom won their races, including Republican Bernie Moreno of Ohio. He took over a key Senate seat from Democratic crypto skeptic Sherrod Brown, paving the way for other potentially sweeping legislation, executives said.
Calvert said the 2025 Congress will be “the most pro-crypto Congress in history.”
(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly in New York; Editing by Michelle Price, Megan Davies and Nick Zieminski)
