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President-elect Donald Trump plans to make America a leader in cryptocurrencies, through “common sense” investments and regulations.
Eric Trump said his father “realizes that every country in the world is adopting crypto, noting that he and the president-elect have been “a big fan of crypto for a long time.” interview with CNBC (CMCSA-9.50%) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“He wants to make America the crypto capital of the world,” Trump said of his father. “He was very, very clear on that point.”
Trump said America risks being “left behind” if it doesn’t start increasing its investments in digital assets. He cited the UAE as an example of a country that has embraced crypto and passed regulations that have helped drive innovation and investment in this growing sector.
“America better lead the way, or we’re going to leave a lot of things behind,” he said.
The former and new president’s embrace of crypto was a major cornerstone of his presidential campaign, throw himself as a “crypto candidate” and “crypto president” while courting tech leaders.
He demanded a national strategic bitcoin reservesaid that all Bitcoins should be mine in the United States, and join his name to several crypto projects this year.
When it comes to regulation – or deregulation – Trump said he expects the president-elect to establish clear guidelines and “common sense regulation” that sets the rules of the road for the industry.
“It looks like it’s transparent. It is what it is,” he said.
“A lot of people think the crypto industry doesn’t want regulation,” he continued. “Actually, that’s not true. They just want sensible regulations, regulations they can follow, regulations that are clear, black and white.”
Trump also said the industry doesn’t “want to see people like Gary Gensler, who has been absolutely a disaster for crypto.” He accused the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of doing “everything he could to stifle innovation.”
Gensler said he would leave your role on Jan. 20, Trump’s inauguration day — a welcome move for the crypto industry, which has been battling the SEC official over the agency’s strict oversight of the industry. Under his leadership, the SEC has taken on high-profile cases against a number of major industry players, such as Coinbase And Binance.
President-elect Trump has exploited Paul Atkins, a cryptocurrency advocate, will chair the regulator. Atkins, who now heads consultancy Patomak Global Partners, has chaired the Digital Chamber’s Token Alliance since 2017, tasked with promoting best practices and recommending legal frameworks favoring the crypto industry.
— William Gavin contributed to this article.
