Donald Trump's Top Five Crypto Campaign Promises

It’s inauguration day in America, and the crypto industry is emphatic for the next four years under an outwardly pro-crypto President Donald Trump.

On the campaign trail, Trump didn’t just pledge to Make America Great Again; he promised to make it a global crypto powerhouse! Trump’s agenda appears poised to usher in the next era of the bull market, but can he deliver?

Here are five must-keep promises that Donald Trump has made to the crypto industry. 👇

👨‍🦲 Fire Gary Gensler

Donald Trump became the crypto industry’s consensus presidential pick the moment he stated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler would get fired on day one under the Trump Administration at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville.

Although it was murky whether President Trump has the authority to forcibly relieve sitting SEC commissioners under normal circumstances, Gensler ended up firing himself, somewhat predictably announcing his resignation later that November. Two weeks later, Trump nominated long-time SEC insider Paul Atkins to replace Gensler.

Chair Gensler’s last day in office was Friday, January 17, and with neither of his fellow Democrats expected to remain on the Commission in 2025, the incoming Trump Administration should have free rein to create an SEC that can deliver crypto regulatory clarity.

🥇 Make Crypto a National Priority

At Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, Trump first outlined his plans to make America a leader in blockchain technology by supporting U.S.-based crypto mining operations and establishing federal BTC strategic reserves.

Last Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Trump is keen on issuing executive orders that would declare cryptocurrency a national priority and establish a presidential crypto advisory council (on his first day in office, of course).

Trump has expressed openness to expanding the holdings of a potential American crypto strategic reserve beyond BTC. Additionally, such measures could calm the market’s expectation for future sales of federal crypto holdings, like the 69k BTC confiscated from Silk Road hacker James Zhong in 2021.

🏦 End Operation Chokepoint 2.0

Shortly after FTX exploded in November 2022, crypto banks were slammed by a January 2023 tri-regulator joint statement that highlighted potential risks associated with crypto and cautioned banks against having concentrated exposure to the sector.

The subsequent denial of crypto bank Custodia’s application for an account at the Federal Reserve because of its crypto-specific risk profile outraged the crypto industry, and in February 2023, Nic Carter published an op-ed which claimed that the Biden Administration was executing on a “coordinated plan that spans multiple agencies to discourage banks from dealing with crypto firms.” 

Signature and Silvergate – two of the banks Carter referenced as being unfairly targeted by regulators – were shuttered by the FDIC over solvency concerns just one month later, yet many maintain that the pair were targeted for their crypto connections.

Donald Trump has promised to immediately shut down Operation Chokepoint 2.0, and Joe Rogan’s post-election interview on the topic with a16z founder Marc Andreessen gained widespread traction among many crypto-external conservatives, who perceived more Biden Administration overreach.

⚖️ Repeal SAB 121

SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 came into effect in April 2022. It strongly recommends financial institutions holding crypto for their customers to record a liability and offsetting asset entry for the position on their corporate balance sheets.

Such treatment creates new recording requirements that do not apply to traditional securities, like stocks and bonds, and triggers increased capital reserve requirements (i.e.; the need to hold more cash) for regulated financial institutions that would like to hold crypto assets on behalf of their customers. This need to tie up company money against crypto eliminates their ability to custody tokens.

Republicans rallied around SAB 121 repeal last May, and recent reporting from the Washington Post indicates that Trump will tell his SEC to eliminate the policy on his first day in office.

🚓 Free Ross Ulbricht

Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for his role in the creation and operation of “Silk Road,” a darknet marketplace for illegal goods and services. To get around US banking regulations and “preserve” anonymity, all transactions on Silk Road used BTC for payments. In hopes of rallying support around his campaign, at the Libertarian National Convention last May, Donald Trump promised to commute the sentence of Ulbricht on day one.

🧐 Conclusion

As Donald Trump assumes office, the crypto industry stands at yet another critical juncture. The coming days will reveal if and how President Trump intends to deliver on his ambitious agenda, which, if successful, could redefine America’s role as a global leader in blockchain technology and usher in the next big rally for crypto markets.