A New SEC cryptocurrency task force Donald Trump’s second day in office helped fuel some new investor enthusiasm for digital assets as the crypto world awaited executive orders from the new president.
The goal of the “crypto task force” from the Securities and Exchange Commission is to help the US regulator “establish clear regulatory frameworks, provide concrete pathways to registration, develop a prudent disclosure framework, and fairly deploy enforcement resources,” according to the SEC.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, rose above $106,000 on Tuesday after a slide on Monday following Trump’s inauguration.
The SEC frequently clashed with the biggest players in the crypto world during Joe Biden’s time in office. Trump has promised to replace Biden’s SEC chief, Gary Gensler, with someone more friendly to the industry.
His choice, Paul Atkins, is still seeking confirmation in the Senate, and SEC Commissioner Mark Ueda is leading the agency as acting chairman.
Industry executives are testing Trump’s new SEC regulations for exchange-traded funds this week with new applications that, if approved, would give investors greater exposure to various crypto assets.
On Tuesday, Rex Shares and Osprey Funds filed seven separate applications to launch crypto-linked ETFs, including those holding shares of XRP, SOL, Dogecoin (DOGE) and the president’s official memecoin (TRUMP). Last year, the SEC allowed BlackRock and other giant money managers to launch bitcoin ETFs.
“We are definitely expecting a more welcoming approach from the SEC, and they will see more production documents from us,” said Matthew Siegel, asset manager for Digital Assets VanEck, one of the managers authorized to issue Bitcoin ETFs. 2024.
A bit of a bummer for the industry this week: Trump- It is Trump who has promised to make the United States “the United States” by 2024.The planet’s capital cryptoHe ended his first day in office without mentioning crypto or issuing any executive orders aimed at the industry. Many in the industry still expect those orders to be implemented.
“The market was disappointed by the lack of activity in crypto yesterday,” Dan Hughes, chief technology officer and co-founder of crypto startup Radix, said in emailed comments.
“Any executive order aimed positively at crypto, even if it’s small, will turn the tide very quickly,” Hughes added.
One immediate step the new president could take is to rescind Biden’s own March 2022 executive order on crypto-assets, which urged regulators to “take strong steps to reduce the risks posed by digital assets.”
“I’m a little disappointed that the 80s executive orders were not repealed,” said VanEck’s Siegel.
“In the absence of any executive order regarding this asset class, the market may be more impatient, but I think (the Trump administration) has bought themselves into the conversation at times,” Sigel added.
One important rule that many in the crypto and banking industry hope will be repealed is an accounting directive from the SEC that bars banks from holding crypto for customers.
Donald Trump at the Bitcoin 2024 event in Nashville, Tenn. last July. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm/File photo ·Reuters / Reuters
Most of Trump’s promises to the crypto world could be fulfilled by personnel changes. And the incoming administration has already named three pro-Creto regulators as acting heads of regulatory agencies.
On Tuesday, FDIC Acting Chairman Travis Hill issued a handwritten list of priorities for the banking regulatory agency. One includes greater transparency in how the agency handles digital assets.
The Commodity and Futures Trading Commission also named one of its crypto-friendly commissioners, Caroline Pham, on Monday. Pham, a Biden candidate and former Citigroup banker, has advocated for clearer regulation of digital assets and more oversight for the CFTC in regulating the market.
Many in the crypto industry are willing to wait longer for more tangible changes.
“The possibility of a significant and well-thought-out executive order (EO) for the crypto market remains an exciting opportunity,” said Leonard Lancia, CEO of crypto market maker Portifino Technologies.
One regional bank, Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence, told Yahoo Finance that as the overall regulatory environment becomes clearer, the stable coin Fifth Third Bank is “definitely thinking about playing.”
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase ( COIN ), one of the biggest players in the crypto industry, told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday that Trump “really wants to be the first bitcoin president.”
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong REUTERS/Brendan McDermid ·REUTERS / Reuters
Armstrong met with Trump before and after the election to advocate for the crypto industry.
Trump says he’s excited about the idea of a strategic bitcoin reserve. Sen. Cynthia Lammis (R-Wyo.) is leading the effort in Congress to create such a reserve.
“Any gold-holding government should hold bitcoin as a reserve,” he said, “If the US gets a strategic bitcoin reserve, maybe the rest of the G20 or more will follow, and that’s just driving it. The price of bitcoin is up.”
David Hollert is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto and other financial sectors.
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Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Leonard Lancia’s name. We are sorry for the mistake.
