30s Summary

If Donald Trump gets a second term in office, the cryptocurrency could experience rapid growth due to new legislation and a crypto-friendly potential head of the SEC. Experts predict lessened regulations for American crypto and digital asset companies and a potential boom for exchange-traded funds. However, it is unclear whether these plans will encourage tech innovation or simply benefit the founders. Not all Republican lawmakers support crypto due to its threat to traditional financial institutions. Yet, Stablecoin legislation is predicted to improve, with many companies advocating for Trump. Nevertheless, uncertainty remains due to potential changes in regulation and policy.

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If Trump gets a second term in office, those in the know reckon it could be great for the world of cryptocurrency, both at home and abroad. This could boost the chances of getting new rules for the digital asset market and might also pave the way for a stablecoin payment act. With the Republicans holding the upper hand in both the Senate and probably the House too, Trump would likely appoint a crypto-friendly head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Some gossip even points to this change taking place on Trump’s first day back in the job.

In the words of Boris Bohrer-Bilowitzki, the Big Cheese over at Concordium, a major blockchain business, Trump landing a second term could have a huge impact on the crypto industry all over the world. He expects Trump to go easy on the regulation of crypto stuff, meaning that America’s crypto and digital assets companies shouldn’t get stuck in a boring red tape rut.

Chiente Hsu, a co-founder of ALEXGO, a Bitcoin bridge, reckons the next several years could be pretty sweet for the digital assets sector. This could mean a boom for crypto-specific exchange-traded funds and a drop in legal action against the crypto industry.

There are some potential snags though, even with Trump pledging to make America the “crypto capital of the world”. It’s not clear if the new administration will encourage tech innovation or if its plans will simply benefit the founders at the expense of everyday investors. Tim Massad, a big shot from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, put it to us like this.

Rather than going into detailed policy plans, the president-elect might change his mind about crypto. We don’t know if Trump will fire the current SEC chief, Gary Gensler, as soon as he takes office, although this could be tricky; the SEC is an independent body and its board members stick around for five years, only getting the boot if the prez thinks they’re not pulling their weight. But, according to Massad, Trump could just lift a crypto-friendly commissioner to the top spot as soon as he gets in.

World-wise, Trump’s second term might not seem like a big deal but, looking closer to home, there’s an interesting shift. In the election, the Republicans took over the Senate from the Democrats. This included a win for businessman Bernie Moreno over Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. This could be a game-changer for crypto, as Brown, sceptical of all things crypto, was putting a damper on market reforms.

The details of digital asset market structure legislation have yet to be hammered out but, if it goes ahead, it could bring less volatility to the crypto market. On a bigger scale, it might even get more pension funds investing in digital assets.

However, not everything is a for-sure thing and some old-school Republican lawmakers might push back because of their distrust of crypto and its threat to traditional financial institutions.

Stablecoin legislation could well improve; even before the election, things were looking up on this front. Stablecoins are easier for lawmakers to grasp than other types of crypto and they’re generally seen as good for the US dollar. Nevertheless, Bitcoin and others could still be seen as competition for the dollar.

Is the US a big deal for the future of the crypto/blockchain world? While the US is one of many countries listed by Chainalysis in a recent crypto adoption survey, it seems to hold sway over crypto trading. It’s expected that Bitcoin and established altcoins will rise even further, getting more regular investors onboard as well as larger institutions.

The incoming administration might not be so keen on protecting small investors, which is a concern. Robert Ong, chief operating officer at CoinGecko, remains hopeful, reckoning that Trump’s victory is good for crypto. According to Ong, Trump’s opinions on crypto have been largely positive and many US crypto companies have been advocating for Trump, so things could be looking up for the crypto world in the next few years.

In fact, Trump might see crypto as a strategically important area in global politics. For instance, he might want to outflank Chinese crypto companies by making America a leader in this industry.

While Trump’s second term brings a lot of uncertainties, Massad says whatever happens, the rule of law needs to be respected. This is crucial for all businesses, including those in the crypto industry.