3 Bitcoin and Crypto Market Changes During Trump’s First Week Back In The Oval Office
Key Takeaways
- Trump signed an executive order on digital assets, seeking recommendations on regulations and possibly setting up a digital stockpile.
- The SEC has already become more friendly to the crypto industry by rescinding SAB 121, creating a Crypto Task Force, and announcing pro-crypto Mark Uyeda as acting chairman.
- Issuers are ready to test the limits of the SEC’s new stance on crypto, as the agency has received a flood of applications for new types of crypto ETFs.
President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office ushered in a week of changes in the cryptocurrency industry.
Bitcoin (BTCUSD) prices reached a new all-time high above $109,000 ahead of Trump’s inauguration as market watchers anticipated changes to the government’s stance toward cryptocurrency. Since he was sworn in, the White House has helped provide a path to clarity on regulation and softened lawmakers’ stance on regulation, resulting in a pipeline of new products.
Here are some things that happened in the crypto markets in just the past week that Trump has been in office.
Executive Order Kickstarts Progress On Crypto Issues
During his first week in office, Trump addressed some of the promises he made to the bitcoin and crypto industry during his campaign.
He signed an executive order on digital assets and financial technology, setting up a working group to examine the current crypto regulations and make recommendations on the path forward, including potentially setting up a bitcoin strategic reserve.
Some worry that while Trump may have taken the first step, it wasn’t all that he promised. While Trump originally backed the establishment of a strategic bitcoin stockpile at the Bitcoin 2024 conference last year, the executive order noted that this working group will simply explore a potential national stockpile of “digital assets.”
The order also prevented the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
SEC Softens Stance On Crypto
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission‘s (SEC) enforcement-driven approach to regulation has previously been at odds with the crypto industry. However, Trump is seemingly working to change that.
Trump had talked about ousting then-SEC Chair Gary Gensler on the campaign trail. However, Gensler stepped down ahead of Trump’s inauguration. Trump’s pick for his replacement, Paul Atkins, has historically been supportive of crypto.
While Atkins awaits Congressional confirmation, the agency’s acting chief, Mark Uyeda, established a new Crypto Task Force. The task force will be headed by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who has pushed for more regulatory clarity for the crypto industry and published multiple dissenting opinions on crypto-related actions during her time at the SEC.
Also, in what is effectively a turnaround, the SEC rescinded Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121), an accounting rule that prevented traditional banks and financial institutions from acting as custodians for crypto assets for their customers.
Crypto-Friendly Administration Drives New Products To Market
The crypto industry is taking advantage of this softening of regulatory stance to launch new products.
Since the new administration took over, the SEC has received more than 30 new applications related to crypto ETFs.
While issuers started with larger, more established cryptocurrencies like Litecoin, Solana, and Ripple, it’s clear that ETF issuers are going to test how far the new SEC leadership will allow them to go. According to Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, some of these applications are for riskier products, such as a 2x leveraged MELANIA meme coin ETF.
Additionally, Nasdaq and others have filed for the allowance of in-kind redemptions for holders of spot bitcoin ETFs such as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). This means IBIT holders could redeem their shares for actual bitcoin; however, this activity would be limited to “authorized participants,” Seyffart posted on X.