The crypto industry is hoping for a long-awaited boom under Donald Trump’s second presidency.
Trump’s reelection changed things for the sector, which aims to finally get comprehensive regulation rather than a hodgepodge of lawsuits from the SEC, according to Paxos CEO Chad Cascarilla.
“It can really kick off a crypto Golden Age where you put the right rules in place,” Cascarilla said at the Fortune Global Forum on Monday during a panel on the future of decentralized finance.
A second Trump administration is expected to be very favorable to the crypto industry, but a new regulatory regime for crypto would face major decisions and have critical consequences for the U.S. and global economy. The central question facing regulators is to what extent do digital and cryptocurrencies become a formal part of the U.S. financial system? As a technology, digital currencies can facilitate transactions between parties without a middleman—a tantalizing promise, boosters say, that would empower ordinary consumers and potentially weaken big banks. However, regulators would also have to consider concerns crypto can be used for financial crimes like money laundering.
Charles Adkins, president of blockchain-company Hedera, chafed at the characterization that crypto companies are rule-breakers. “The one thing that most people in this industry are craving is just some type of guardrails and regulations,” Adkins said. “There is that perception out there that the crypto industry doesn’t want to follow the rules, and that could not be further from the truth.”
When President-elect Trump won the presidential election last week, cryptocurrencies soared on the news. The price of Bitcoin rose 27% since the election on Nov. 5. Its price now sits north of $86,000 after briefly hitting all-time highs. Other crypto currencies like Dogecoin and Ether also rallied after the election results. Meanwhile the stock price of the digital currency exchange Coinbase, where many cryptocurrencies trade, shot up 67% since the election.
On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly said he intended to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.” And while industry experts certainly welcome a crypto evangelist to the White House, they also hope Trump will successfully implement regulation that determines how companies should conduct themselves. Without clear laws to follow, companies had been operating cautiously, according to Adkins.
The lack of clarity had hindered Paxos’ business in the U.S., which grew at a slower rate than its international markets, according to Cascarilla. “There’s so much pent-up demand,” he said.
With Trump now filling out the key posts in his administration, crypto insiders are eyeing whether he will name any friendly appointees to financial agencies. Under consideration are former SEC official and current Robinhood executive Daniel Gallagher, and two sitting SEC commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, according to the Washington Post.
This session was presented by Hedera. Discussion leaders included:
- Charles Adkins , President, Hedera
- Carmelle Cadet, Founder and CEO, Emtech
- Charles Cascarilla, Cofounder and CEO, Paxos
- Neha Narula, Director, Digital Currency Initiative, MIT Media Lab
- Moderator: Leo Schwartz , Reporter, Fortune