The crypto industry is hoping for a long-awaited boom under Donald Trump’s second presidency.
Trump’s re-election has been a game-changer for the industry, which is finally aiming to achieve comprehensive regulation rather than a mix of lawsuits from the SEC, according to Chad Cascarilla, CEO of Paxos.
“This can really kickstart a golden age of crypto where you put the right rules in place,” Cascarilla said during the press conference. Fortune Global Forum on Monday during a panel on the future of decentralized finance.
A second Trump administration is expected to be very supportive of the crypto industry, but a new regulatory regime for crypto would require major decisions and have critical consequences for the U.S. and global economy. The central question facing regulators is to what extent are digital and cryptocurrencies becoming a formal part of the US financial system? As a technology, digital currencies can facilitate transactions between parties without an intermediary — a tantalizing promise, proponents say, that would empower ordinary consumers and potentially weaken big banks. However, regulators should also consider concerns that crypto could be used for financial crimes like money laundering.
Charles Adkins, president of blockchain company Hedera, chafed at the characterization that crypto companies are breaking the rules. “The one thing that most people in this industry crave is just some sort of guardrails and regulations,” Adkins said. “There is a perception that the crypto industry doesn’t want to follow the rules, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
When President-elect Trump won the presidential election last week, cryptocurrencies soared following the news. The price of Bitcoin has increased by 27% since the November 5 election. Its price now sits north of $86,000 after briefly hitting all-time highs. Other cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin and Ether also rallied after the election results. Meanwhile, the share price of digital currency exchange Coinbase, where many cryptocurrencies trade, has soared 67% since the election.
During the election campaign, Trump repeatedly declared his intention to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world.” And while industry experts certainly welcome a crypto evangelist to the White House, they also hope that Trump succeeds in implementing regulations that determine how businesses must behave. Without clear laws to follow, businesses operated cautiously, according to Adkins.
The lack of clarity has hampered Paxos’ business in the United States, which has grown more slowly than in international markets, according to Cascarilla. “There is so much pent-up demand,” he said.
With Trump now occupying key positions in his administration, crypto insiders are wondering if he will appoint friendly people to financial agencies. Former SEC official and current Robinhood executive Daniel Gallagher, as well as two current SEC commissioners, Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, are under consideration, according to the Washington Post.
This session was presented by Hedera. Discussion leaders included:
- Charles Adkins President, Hedera
- Carmelle Cadet, Founder and CEO, Emtech
- Charles Cascarilla, Co-founder and CEO, Paxos
- Neha Narula, Director, Digital Currency Initiative, MIT Media Lab
- Moderator: Leo Schwartz journalist, Fortune
