It is popular for incoming CEOs of big companies to have a 100-day Plan to implement changes for the benefits of shareholders and customers to demonstrate they are in control of the business in the first 100 days and make their mark.
Trump’s 5-day Plan has broken all precedents, for CEOs and U.S. Presidents, with his promise to deliver digital finance policy and regulation to the benefit of fintech innovators, capital allocators, and the American people, in record time.
Following the November election the “Crypto Wall” fell with Trump’s commitment to assert U.S. global leadership in fintech innovation, crypto and digital assets. The new appointments including SEC and CFTC chairs, a new “crypto and AI czar”, and new committees started the tsunami of announcements that followed.
Last week’s President’s Executive Order (EO) on digital financial technology cut a decisive path and set the course for U.S. policy to be put into law over the next 12 months, banning CBDCs and securing industry backed stablecoins, promoting public blockchains, ensuring access to banking, and providing regulatory clarity with tech-neutral regulators.
A revamp of SEC strategy with the establishment of a new crypto taskforce and the repeal of the controversial SAB121 empowers institutional capital markets to dive into crypto markets.
For innovators and operators of crypto and DeFi technology who have been persecuted or prosecuted by the SEC’s regulation by enforcement, the narrative has now been flipped. Innovation in technology and digital finance is now recognized as a strategic U.S. asset both from a competition and security perspective, and in good time as demonstrated recently by China’s AI contender DeepSeek.
These big policy moves are also aligned to Trump’s business interests with the recent launch of the The Trump and Melania coins, and the recent announcement that Truth Social is launching a fintech company.
Hard To Earn, Easy To Lose
Looking ahead to the next 4 years, what does the Trump Administration mean for crypto?
To many, trust. Yet there is an old saying that trust is “hard to earn, easy to lose.”
All money, including the U.S. dollar, is a confidence trick, so it goes to argue that U.S. government debt is also a confidence trick. Bitcoin is a confidence trick, even if it is, arguably, not money, though for many, is seen as hedge against U.S. government debt.
Regardless of the direction, the policy path is leading to crypto legislation and regulation. The American people, who voted overwhelmingly for a Trump mandate, are now being encouraged to put their trust in crypto being legitimate by the President.
With Trump and many in his administration vested in crypto, many believe that this legitimacy will work for benefit of the American people who will be able to (more) easily access, trade, and invest in crypto for capital accumulation in a way they have never had access to before.
This is especially important after 40 years of zero inflation and stagnant wage growth for the average citizen while the rich accumulated wealth through the ownership of assets that appreciated significantly. To be fair, this is the story of the average citizen in the Western World, and not just a U.S. problem, though the U.S. has the most billionaires at just over 800, followed by China with 400, and India with 200.
The potential for working Americans to be able to participate in new digital wealth creation and build generational wealth is an attractive idea that has its claws deep in the American psyche. Critical to the crypto confidence trick is that the voter base who placed their trust in the new administration will need to be able to see tangible change and benefits to their daily lives.
If the President and his administration of billionaires are the only ones profiting from crypto, this may break that trust and tarnish the legacy of the fledgling digital assets industry.
And while crypto caucuses invested in the President’s campaign and so far, got a good return on their investment, other caucuses that donated will be expecting their pound of policy flesh, which could conflict with priorities for digital assets.
The U.S. Regulator’s Dilemma
What is required from the newly empowered regulators?
Politicians drive policy but regulators enforce it. U.S. agencies like the SEC and CFTC will now need to engage in a delicate balancing act with the new administration that is equally keen to deregulate many industries.
“New legislation, legal certainty, and regulatory clarity in the U.S. is absolutely imperative in order for the crypto and digital asset industry to mature and scale,” says, Elise Soucie Watts, executive director at Global Digital Finance, “While the sentiment towards innovation and new technologies is undeniably positive, the legislation must still progress through both houses and then be implemented across the U.S.”
Adds Watts, “While Trump’s closest advisors have made it clear that they wish to prioritize efficiency and remove regulatory red tape with broad strokes, it will be crucial not to remove the guardrails, many implemented after the last great financial crisis, that are integral to the smooth functioning of markets as we know them today.”
For regulators and policymakers across other jurisdictions, the moves of the Trump administration ramp up legislative competition and the digital space race to even higher levels than the world saw in 2024.
Whoever makes the most competitive regime for business to grow and scale stands to make a lot of money. But all countries must choose how they stack the scales between financial stability, global requirements, and regulatory objectives, versus being a welcoming and true home for growth.
Beyond the U.S.
It’s estimated that individuals hold 70 percent of all bitcoin, far ahead of business, funds, and governments. India, China, the U.S., Brazil, and Indonesia are the top five countries reported to have the largest adoption, or ownership of bitcoin.
There are strong benefits for firms who may choose to grow and build in developing economies such as India, Indonesia, Brazil, with large populations, young demographics, and high rates of crypto adoption. The race is still on to compete for capital and talent, but at minimum, the U.S. will be competing with these countries on the scale of consumer adoption of crypto.
It is rumored that the Emirates government now holds $40 billion, or twice the amount of bitcoin that the U.S. government holds, putting it into the number one position for government bitcoin holdings, followed by China, the U.K. and Ukraine.
With crypto banned in China, though there are reports of a lift being considered following the U.S. election, and the Ukraine at war and greatly distracted, that leaves the Emirates and the U.K.
The Emirates has the capital and the goodwill, with competitive crypto legislation, and a favorable tax regime for crypto whales, and the U.K. has a strong fintech heritage with London’s pedigree which is often ranked the second global financial center to New York, though neither of these jurisdiction is reported to be considering a strategic bitcoin reserve.
In any event, it today’s rapidly changing global economy, these factors may not be enough to compete with the U.S. – reaction time is arguably the most important factor.
“There is now a constellation of interests in the U.S. that understand the alchemy of this new technology. It is also being prioritized and resourced accordingly, so future Web3 companies and investors in the U.S. can benefit,” says Steve McWhirter, global policy lead, Binance, “The U.S. timeline is six to twelve months maximum. In the same time period, other jurisdictions might not have approved firms that support innovation in their countries, or finalised their policy positions, effectively stifling growth in their markets and economies.
“Globally this is simply a race for the next generation of global tech companies that bring investment, skills, jobs, and taxes. Those that prioritize it win.”
In the U.K., the pressure is on. A16z’s recent closure of its U.K. has spooked many. A recent survey of U.K. fintech and crypto firms found that 50 percent of the firms surveyed have been rejected from opening a bank account and only 14 percent managed to successfully apply for a bank account with one big banks – the U.K’s version of Operation Chokepoint.
“If the first few weeks of the Trump administration hasn’t ignited a sense of urgency among U.K. policymakers and regulators, I don’t know what will. The U.S. has decisively entered the race to become the world’s leading cryptoasset hub — a prize the U.K. has long claimed to covet but has yet to seriously pursue. For the U.K. to truly compete, it must not only recognise but genuinely believe in the economic and consumer benefits digital assets will continue to deliver,” says Laura Navaratnam, U.K. policy lead for Crypto Council for Innovation.
Policymakers and regulators in the U.S. will now need to work fast, following the President’s 5-day plan, partnering with the best industry advisors to get it as close to right as they can, the first time. Policymakers and regulators outside the U.S. are encouraged to the same, but faster, and get ready to compete, fiercely.
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