The MAGA tide has risen, and the crypto field is flying its flags.
Author: Pzai, Foresight News
Since Donald Trump's victory in this year's US presidential election, the banner of "MAGA" has swept across the entire crypto market with overwhelming momentum. Under the guiding principle of "America First", Trump views cryptocurrencies as an important component of the US financial system, and has already begun planning to use Bitcoin as a national reserve asset. In the hustle and bustle of government team preparations, a large number of crypto-friendly bureaucrats have taken office. The Trump family is also actively participating in the on-chain economy under the identity of "World Liberty Finance" (WLFI), and has already purchased over $75.26 million in crypto-related assets. This article unravels the data from Trump's appointments and on-chain project bets, attempting to piece together a roadmap for the future "crypto renaissance" led by the Trump administration.
New Officials Assume Office
The leadership team of Trump's new government is not lacking in crypto-friendly figures, and in the newly established "Digital Asset Presidential Advisory Council", chairman "Crypto Tsar" David Sacks, who previously served as the chief operating officer of Paypal, will serve as the US government's AI and crypto supervisor. In his personal and Craft Ventures investment track record, most projects are related to crypto asset management and Bitcoin infrastructure (such as crypto asset manager BitGo and Bitwise, Lightning Network application Lightning Labs, Voltage, etc.), and it can be expected that after Trump takes office, crypto-compliant custody products will make further progress, and even seek suitable asset outlets for Bitcoin reserves.
Bo Hines, a former college football player who has twice run for a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives, and a graduate of Yale University and Wake Forest University Law School, will serve as the executive director of the council. Although Hines has no relevant cryptocurrency experience, this appointment also indirectly proves that for the Trump administration, crypto compliance is an urgent bottleneck to be solved. And in this administration, the Republican Party's dominant position in the three branches of government has also cleared certain obstacles for the US to promote crypto compliance policies in the future.
Beyond the "core members", crypto-friendly figures are also constantly joining various government departments. For example, at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which played an important role in previous crypto compliance cases, potential candidates include a16z's crypto policy head Brian Quintenz (who played a supervisory role in US crypto futures contracts), Perianne Boring (a proponent of the Bitcoin mining industry), and Caroline Pham (who proposed a principles-based framework in 2023 to regulate the digital asset market and tokenization).
As for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the dismissal of the current chairman Gary Gensler is a done deal, and on December 4th he nominated Paul Atkins as the new SEC chairman. As the CEO of consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, Paul served as an SEC commissioner during the Bush administration and has extensive experience in finance and cryptocurrencies.
He has also served as the co-chairman of the crypto industry advocacy organization Token Alliance, criticizing the current SEC chairman Gary Gensler's tough regulatory policies on the crypto industry, believing that these policies may push the crypto industry out of the US, advocating for less regulation, emphasizing the importance of "common sense regulation" and free markets, and industry insiders expect Atkins to promote a clearer regulatory framework, reduce compliance costs, and encourage innovation. Earlier, Trump also had a phone conversation with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, reflecting his efforts on crypto compliance within the US framework.
On June 26, 2007, Paul Atkins (left) conversed with then-SEC Chairman Christopher Cox at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, D.C.
In terms of legal implementation progress, Trump plans to repeal SAB 121 accounting guidance, which requires custodians to treat customers' held crypto assets as liabilities and report them at fair value on the balance sheet, adding financial burdens to various custodians and exchanges. Another initiative that Trump emphasizes terminating is Operation Choke Point 2.0, which is the US government's action to exert pressure on the crypto industry through regulatory agencies to restrict their access to banking services. This action is considered a continuation of the "Operation Choke Point" in 2013, aimed at indirectly attacking specific industries through the banking system.
Under this action, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Reserve, among others, have issued joint statements or "cease and desist letters" requiring banks to stop or limit their crypto-related businesses, leading to the closure of accounts of many crypto companies and their founders, and affecting the crypto acceptance of banks like Signature Bank. Additionally, Trump will continue to push for the implementation of the "21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act" (FIT 21) during his term, which clearly defines key terms such as "digital assets", "blockchain systems", and "decentralized governance systems", and categorizes digital assets into three types: restricted digital assets (similar to securities), digital commodities, and licensed stablecoins, delineating the regulatory responsibilities of the SEC and CFTC, and strengthening information disclosure requirements, requiring digital asset issuers and exchanges to provide transparent and accurate information, and establishing consumer protection clauses and dispute resolution mechanisms. This also reflects Trump's determination to pave the way for the steady compliance of cryptocurrencies during his term.
For the US crypto market, its development has generally been coordinated with the progress of compliance, but this process has not been smooth sailing. Previously, the FTX incident and its aftermath had a profound impact on the market, not only shaking investor confidence, but also exposing the shortcomings of the regulatory framework. This incident has led to stricter scrutiny of the crypto industry by regulatory agencies, and many projects have struggled with compliance issues, resulting in an overall unsatisfactory market progress.
However, with the personnel changes and policy adjustments of key regulatory agencies such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the market is gradually seeing new opportunities. In this context, some tokens are able to operate under a clearer regulatory framework, and the compliance path is gradually becoming clearer.
Taking XRP as an example, it was previously hampered by the SEC's lawsuit, but with the progress of the case and the improvement of the regulatory environment, XRP has gradually found a way out, and market confidence in it has also recovered. In addition, other tokens and projects have also begun to explore innovation under more explicit rules, reducing the compliance costs caused by regulatory uncertainties.
The "Vane" Role of WLFI
In late August this year, Eric Trump, the second son of Donald Trump and the current Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, announced the official launch of the crypto project WLFI, and has been active on-chain. The project was previously seen as a potential source of campaign funds for the Trump family.
After a series of twists and turns, WLFI raised $20 million in its initial offering, but the content in its agreement that "the Trump family can obtain 75% of the profits without responsibility" also received some criticism from the crypto field. After Trump's inauguration, WLFI, as a direct display of his family's choice of crypto targets, is expected to play the role of the "US crypto vane".
By delving into WLFI's portfolio, it can be seen that it is also inseparable from the connections of Trump's team. Take WBTC as an example, after Justin Sun invested $30 million in WLFI, WLFI's on-chain Bitcoin reserves were converted to WBTC (interestingly, David Sacks also invested in WBTC custodian BitGo). On the other hand, its portfolio and applications are also somewhat related to a US VC Polychain, with Luke Pearson, a general partner of Polychain Capital, listed as a member of the WLFI advisory team. And WLFI's deployed Scroll is itself an L2 project led by Polychain, and Scroll's co-founder Sandy Peng is also on the advisory list.
With the gradual implementation of the Trump administration's crypto policy, WLFI is expected to play a greater "wind vane" role in the future crypto market. Its asset allocation and strategic cooperation will continue to influence market trends, and the potential support of professional institutions such as Polychain Capital will also provide it with sustained momentum.
In the future, WLFI may continue to invest in high-quality DeFi assets, while enhancing its brand value and market influence through cooperation with other projects. In general, WLFI has become an important wind vane in the US crypto market, relying on its unique asset allocation, strategic cooperation and political influence. Its future development will continue to attract widespread market attention and provide important reference signals for investors.
Conclusion
Trump's victory has brought unprecedented development opportunities for the US cryptocurrency industry. Through the appointment of crypto-friendly personnel, the promotion of compliance policies, and the active participation of family projects, the Trump administration is outlining a blueprint for an "American crypto renaissance".
From legal compliance to close cooperation with industry leaders, Trump's crypto strategy aims not only to consolidate the US's leading position in the global digital economy, but also to inject new vitality into the standardization and innovation of the cryptocurrency market.
However, this path to renaissance is not without challenges. In the future, as policies are gradually implemented and the market continues to mature, the US is following the MAGA banner to become the center of the global crypto economy. Whether Trump's crypto strategy can truly achieve a "renaissance" not only concerns the future of the US financial system, but will also profoundly affect the pattern of the crypto industry. Therefore, whether cryptocurrencies can ultimately reign supreme alongside the Trump effect, or become "defeated troops" on the political chessboard, we can wait and see the answer of history.
