According to a
report by The Washington Post, through pursuing a more relaxed regulatory environment, the President-elect Trump hopes to fulfill his campaign promise of making the United States the "global capital of crypto-currencies", with initial discussions focusing on a series of financial regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Trump plans to appoint crypto-friendly officials
According to five informed sources, Trump's advisors are considering placing current regulatory officials, former federal officials, and financial industry executives in key leadership positions, many of whom have publicly expressed support for crypto-currencies, although the discussion process is still in the early stages and the list of candidates is still in flux.
The list of candidates to lead agencies such as the SEC includes former SEC official Daniel Gallagher, who currently works at the financial technology company Robinhood, which provides crypto-currency wallets and stock trading services, as well as two Republican SEC commissioners, Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda.
Gallagher is a Republican donor who has criticized the SEC's scorched-earth policy towards crypto-currencies, while Peirce and Uyeda have criticized the SEC's harsh policies and enforcement actions under the Biden administration. After Trump takes office, Peirce may be appointed as the SEC's interim chair and could potentially lead a federal crypto-currency policy task force in the future.
Trump's aides are also considering former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Christopher Giancarlo.
During the campaign, Trump made a series of crypto-currency friendly promises, including firing SEC chairman Gary Gensler on his first day in office, commuting the sentence of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, establishing a Presidential Crypto-currency Advisory Council, repealing SAB 121, ending Operation Choke Point 2.0, making the U.S. a Bit mining powerhouse, and establishing a national strategic Bit reserve.
Musk's influence on Trump's personnel decisions
Notably, ABC News
reported that multiple sources have revealed that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become one of the key figures in shaping Trump's future government, and that since election day, Musk has been almost daily at Mar-a-Lago, directly influencing Trump's personnel decisions and strategies for his second term.
Musk has also participated in two of Trump's calls with foreign leaders, with Trump even handing his phone to Musk during a call with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy last week, allowing Musk to speak directly with Zelenskyy. Musk also participated in Trump's call with Turkish President Erdogan.
Musk has had a profound influence on Trump's campaign activities, with the Associated Press
reporting that informed sources have revealed that Musk's super PAC spent around $200 million to help Trump's presidential campaign.
