Trump rewrites crypto rules for the first 100 days, and industry sees “180 pivots”

His approvals were lower than any administration at this point in more than 70 years as President Donald Trump won the 100-day mark for his second term this week.

Don’t tell the crypto community.

Trump took office on the promise to make America the “crypto capital of the world.” The person behind that message says he’s already been delivered or at least it’s a hot start.

From strategy creation to executive action, strategic appointments, and early victory blitz Bitcoin Booking for a rollback of the highly enforced SEC tactics and welcoming the industry more than ever in Washington, DC.

“All appointments – I am pleased from a cryptographic perspective,” said Nic Carter, founding partner at Castle Island Ventures. “Previous financial regulatory devices were dead against crypto, and now totals 180 compared to that.”

President Trump faced early blowback after proposing the possibility of strategic crypto sanctuaries that include other digital currencies beyond Bitcoin, including ether, XRP, Solana’s Soltoken, and Cardano’s ADA. Skeptics said taxpayer dollars should not be spent on such dangerous assets. The president quickly narrowed his plan to focus solely on Bitcoin, revealing that he would not use taxpayer funds to support the government’s purchasing strategy.

He has also been criticized by some for launching a meme coin that adds billions of dollars of paper wealth to his net worth. Trump tokens surged earlier this month after its website announced that its top holders would be invited to a private dinner with the president. His family is also involved in other crypto projects.

“It really doesn’t help that he has his family members encrypted their projects,” Carter said. “I understand that they’re interested in the industry and want to be involved in it, but optics aren’t that good about that.”

However, the recent referendum average shows that despite widespread approval for the president’s job being located at just 43%, the crypto industry prefers to attract attention elsewhere, so its actions are ignored.

In the office of the Secretary of Currency, Jonathan Gould has shown support for issuing a new banking charter to crypto companies. During President Joe Biden’s president, that was hardly thought of.

“We’ll see a lot of new crypto companies obtaining the charter for the bank,” Carter said. “And we have a new bank that is expressed in crypto and stubcoin.”

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is also in action under interim chairman Travis Hill. Crypto fans praised the efforts to expose what industry insiders call “Chalke Point 2.0.” This has put a concerted regulatory effort during President Biden to put pressure on banks to cut ties with crypto.

The new SEC chairman, Paul Atkins, is in stark contrast to his predecessor, Gary Jensler, who was notoriously hardline in terms of cryptography regulation and enforcement. Carter said the SEC under Atkins is beginning to work directly with crypto stakeholders, including Castle Island, to develop guidance on token issuance and boundaries between securities and goods.

“This is the clarity we’ve been looking for,” Carter said. “Even with the exception of legislative solutions, I think the SEC will come up with real guidance on tokens and how domestic crypto companies operate.”

By opening Crypto Roundtable, Atkins made its first public release, which was released in exactly four days for work. This is a movement that sent a clear signal to industry participants. Last week, Atkins held a half-day session at the SEC headquarters in Washington, DC, focusing on crypto innovation and custody. The event comes weeks after regulators officially dropped its long-term lawsuit against Ripple. This is the iconic end of a four-year battle between the SEC and the crypto industry.

Veronica McGregor, Chief Legal Officer of Exodus and participant in the SEC’s Crypto Round Table, reflected Carter’s sentiment when calling this approach “180 pivots.”

McGregor, who contributed to the political advocacy group stand during his 2024 campaign, said: “I think those donations are strategically placed and rewarded given that we have an administration that needs to promote itself as procrypt and make some changes.”

Trump is currently heading the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, tapping Brian Quintz, policy director for the crypto group at venture company Andreesen Horowitz.

Carter warned that the Federal Reserve remains “structural hold.” Banks can detain Crypto, but thanks to the repeal of accounting rules called SAB 121, they are still unable to work directly with Crypto companies,” Carter said.

The FDIC and OCC have revoked anti-cryptography guidance, but the Federal Reserve is only partially tracked. Notifications from January 2023 continue to restrict banks from certain crypto-related activities.

“The Fed remains a blocker for banks to deal with crypto stables,” Carter said.

Still, the industry has mostly got what it wanted.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was one of the biggest donors in the 2024 election cycle and made his second job trying to select a code-friendly candidate. The company’s attorney general, Paul Grawal, said the Trump administration “really repeated the script with code.”

“It wasn’t long ago that there was a government that was not only skeptical of this whole new technology, but was actually hostile,” Grewal said. “Now we don’t just welcome digital assets and blockchain-based technology, we accept it in a variety of ways, but we also have a broader administration that stands out in our first 100 days.”

Grewal also pointed to bipartisan momentum in Congress, including bills on Stablecoins and market structure.

“It appears that the White House has one issue with Democrats from both Houses of Congress, along with Republicans on the Hill, and getting the Digital Assets Act on the move,” Grewal said.

Grewal praised the SEC for seeking public opinion and opening the door to industry participation in topics such as custody and market structure.

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said the administration already meets two core expectations. End Crypto’s regulatory crackdown and work with Congress to bring clarity.

He said he was surprised by the administration’s ambitions to integrate blockchain technology across the broader financial system, beyond Bitcoin.

“They are moving far more aggressively to implement crypto and blockchain technology in the broader capital markets,” he said. The SEC includes tokenizing the stock market and examining how it fits within traditional regulatory frameworks, he said.

Shirzad also noted that banking regulators have begun investigating blockchain-based payment systems. Beyond the $3 trillion crypto market, he said the administration’s target appears to be a $100 trillion capital market. “I think that’s something people should pay close attention.”

Stu Aldeoty, Chief Legal Officer of Ripple, now president of the National Cryptocurrency Association, said internal data shows that 73% of US crypto holders want the country to become a global leader in space.

“Government and industry can now go out of court and invest in what the US is doing its best.

Fred Thiel, CEO of Bitcoin Mining Firm Mala Holdingspointed out his early slice victory in the industry. He said the administration’s support for mining technology will allow businesses to “strengthen the US economy and grid.”

Thiel, who attended the First White House digital assets summit, praised Crypto’s officials for the prompt appointment and the launch of the Council on Advisors on Digital Assets.

OBM CEO Dan Lawrence, who manages energy use on industrial-scale mining farms, said the administration’s energy capabilities have made Bitcoin a natural tool to encourage new power infrastructure.

“Bitcoin is a great way to encourage building out of that power,” Lawrence said. “It’s really great to see Bitcoin being recognized at the federal level.”

Viewing: OCC cancels important regulatory hurdles for banking systems to engage in crypto-related activities