Market News
Crypto players ready wishlist for potential second Trump administration - REUTERS
By Hannah Lang
July 31 (Reuters) - When former U.S. president Donald Trump promised a bitcoin conference on Saturday that if reelected he would fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, a crypto skeptic, the crowd roared with delight.
"Wow, I didn't know he was that unpopular," the Republican presidential nominee shouted over the cheers.
Trump, who once derided cryptocurrencies as a "scam," is courting the industry and winning big checks from donors hoping he will swiftly end Gensler's crypto crackdown.
Under Gensler, a Democrat appointed by President Biden, the SEC has brought dozens of crypto enforcement actions, including against major exchanges Coinbase COIN., Binance and Kraken, and levied hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.
A Trump victory could change that virtually overnight. He could appoint a crypto-friendly chair to advance the industry's wishlist, which includes spiking guidance that it says has limited Americans' crypto custody options; a safe harbor for new tokens; and pulling enforcement actions.
"The most important thing we want out of a new administration is the nomination of individuals to key positions ... that have an appreciation and an understanding of crypto," said Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, an industry group.
Gensler's spokesperson declined to comment.
Citing a Supreme Court ruling, Gensler says most crypto tokens behave like securities and should be strictly regulated in the same way, a position lower courts have mostly backed.
Crypto firms argue tokens are commodities and want new laws clarifying their status, although that could take years if Congress remains divided.
While Gensler's term ends in 2026, Trump could replace him with another commissioner as acting chair. The likely candidate is Hester Peirce, a crypto advocate and the longer-serving of the SEC's two Republican commissioners.
The industry is pushing crypto enthusiasts Brian Brooks and Chris Giancarlo, who served in Trump's first administration, for the permanent job, executives said.
