WASHINGTON (AP) — The price of Bitcoin soared to more than $109,000 early Monday morning, just hours before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. The thriving crypto industry was betting that Trump would take action once he returned to the White House.
There was once a skeptic who said this about Bitcoin a few years ago. Seems like a scam” President Trump embraced digital currencies with the enthusiasm of a convert. he new virtual currency venture During his campaign, he vowed to take steps as soon as he took office to make the United States the “crypto capital” of the world.
His pledges include creating a U.S. crypto stockpile, enacting industry-friendly regulations, and an event to appoint his administration's crypto “czar.”
President Trump told crypto enthusiasts: “You're going to be very happy with me.” bitcoin conference Last summer.
Bitcoin is the world's most popular cryptocurrency, created in 2009 as a type of electronic cash that is not controlled by banks or governments. It and new forms of cryptocurrencies have moved from the fringes of finance to the mainstream with an abrupt start.
The highly volatile nature of cryptocurrencies and their use by criminals, fraudsters, and rogue states have attracted many critics, and the usefulness of digital currencies is limited and is often reduced to nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. It claims to be.
However, cryptocurrencies have so far ignored the naysayers and survived multiple prolonged price declines in their short lifespan. Wealthy individuals in the crypto industry feel unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. spent a lot of money This was to help Trump win the election last November. Bitcoin's price has soared since President Trump's victory, topping $100,000 for the first time last month, but at one point fell to around $90,000. It rose about 5% on Friday. It soared more than $9,000 early Monday, according to CoinDesk.
Two years ago, Bitcoin was trading at around $20,000.
Mr. Trump's picks for key Cabinet and regulatory positions include many supporters of cryptocurrencies, including his picks to head the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department. head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Key industry players held the first-ever “Crypto Ball” on Friday to celebrate the first “crypto president.” The event was sold out, with tickets costing thousands of dollars.
Here we take a look at some specific actions President Trump may take in the early days of his administration.
Cryptocurrency Council
As a candidate, President Trump promised to create a special advisory committee to provide guidance on creating “clear” and “simple” regulations for cryptocurrencies within his first 100 days in office.
Details of the council and its members are still unclear, but Trump named the technology executive and venture capitalist after winning the November election. david sax Becomes the regime's cryptocurrency “emperor”. President Trump also announced in late December that former North Carolina Congressman Beau Hines would become executive director of the President's Advisory Council on Digital Assets.
At a Bitcoin conference last year, President Trump told crypto supporters that new regulations “will be written by people who love the industry, not hate the industry.” Paul Atkins, President Trump's pick to lead the SEC, is a strong advocate of cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency investors and companies have been angry at the hostile Biden administration, which they say has gone too far with unfair enforcement actions and accounting policies that stifle innovation in the industry, especially at the hands of outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
“In terms of general expectations from the Trump administration, I think one of the biggest bets is that the SEC will change its tone,” said Peter Van Valkenburgh, executive director of the advocacy group Coin Center.
Gensler said he plans to resign when President Trump takes office. recent interviews He told Bloomberg he was proud of his office's actions to crack down on the crypto industry, which is “infested with bad actors.”
strategic bitcoin reserves
Trump also promised that, as president, he would ensure that the U.S. government would stockpile Bitcoin, just like it already does with gold. At a Bitcoin conference earlier this summer, President Trump said the US government would preserve billions of dollars in Bitcoin seized through law enforcement rather than auction it off.
Cryptocurrency advocates have posted online a draft executive order that would establish the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” as a “permanent national asset” to be managed by the Treasury Department through the Exchange Stabilization Fund. The draft order calls for the Treasury Department to eventually hold at least $21 billion in Bitcoin.
Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis has proposed a bill that would require the U.S. government to stockpile Bitcoin, which supporters say would help diversify government holdings and hedge financial risks. . Critics argue that Bitcoin's volatility makes it unsuitable as a reserve asset.
Creating such a stockpile would be a “huge step toward normalizing Bitcoin and making it legal in the eyes of people who don't yet consider it legal,” he said. said attorney Zach Shapiro, the court's policy director. Bitcoin Policy Research Institute.
Ross Ulbricht
At a Bitcoin conference earlier this year, President Trump drew loud cheers when he reiterated his promise to commute defendant Ross Ulbricht's life sentence. Founder convicted Silk Road, a pharmaceutical sales website that uses cryptography for payments.
Ulbricht's case has galvanized some crypto advocates and libertarian activists who believe government investigators went too far in developing their case against Silk Road.
