The new Trump administration is poised to dramatically change the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies, with prominent tech and crypto executives taking influential positions in policymaking.
What happened: According to the Washington Post, the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has become a key figure in the transition, leveraging his Silicon Valley expertise to recruit candidates for crucial positions across Washington.
Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, has been actively involved in interviewing and recommending candidates for various positions, including those related to cryptocurrency policy.
His influence comes from a meeting with Trump last summer, in which the president-elect’s message about beating China in the technology race resonated with the venture capitalist.
Trump’s transition team has made crypto regulation a priority, intending to address issues like “debanking” and controversial accounting policies on the first day of the presidency.
David Sacksnamed AI and crypto czar by Trump, is working closely with industry leaders to finalize a legislative strategy.
“There has been an effort in the bureaucratic swamp of Washington to stifle innovation with more regulation and higher taxes,” said Brian Hughesspokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition.
He added that the administration aims to “develop a legal framework so that the crypto industry can thrive in the United States.”
According to the report, Trump is expected to issue executive orders on the first day of his presidency, possibly addressing debanking and fair value accounting, which requires banks holding cryptocurrencies to record them as liabilities on their balance sheets.
Read also: Tether will move its headquarters to El Salvador
Why it’s important: The tech industry’s increased involvement in the transition reflects frustrations with the Biden administration’s approach to regulating cryptocurrencies.
Andreessen described Trump’s victory as “a kick in the throat” during a November podcast, indicating the industry’s hope for a more favorable regulatory environment.
This change aligns with recent expert opinions expressed at the Benzinga Future of Digital Assets conference, where panelists highlighted the need for regulatory clarity to unlock institutional growth in the digital assets market.
Adam Guren of Hunting Hill Global Capital highlighted regulatory uncertainty as a major barrier to institutional adoption.
Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen have criticized the Biden administration’s crypto regulations, accusing regulators of harming legitimate businesses while allowing questionable projects to flourish.
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