As the dust settles after the historic 2024 U.S. presidential election, one victor stands out above the rest: cryptocurrency. President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, along with a slate of crypto-savvy appointees and allies, promises to usher in a new era of crypto-friendly policy and mainstream adoption.
Trump’s Crypto Credentials
Trump’s pro-crypto stance is no secret. The former president has openly embraced Bitcoin and launched his own DeFi protocol, World Liberty Financial. The official Republican platform explicitly supports cryptocurrency, and Trump has pledged to:
- Pardon Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road darknet market
- Replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler
- Allow Bitcoin mining
- End Operation Choke Point 2.0, which targets crypto businesses
- Have the government hold seized BTC
A Crypto-Stacked Administration
Beyond the president himself, Trump’s inner circle brims with crypto supporters:
- Vice President-elect J.D. Vance owns Bitcoin and drafted a crypto market structure bill as a senator
- Vivek Ramaswamy, appointed to co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is a long-time crypto bull
- Transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, is a mega Bitcoin and stablecoin bull
- Rumored cabinet picks and key advisors like Jared Kushner, Don Jr., Eric, and Barron Trump, as well as Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Scott Bessent, and Tulsi Gabbard all have crypto ties or holdings
Crypto Flexes Political Muscle
The crypto lobby also flexed its growing political muscle this cycle:
- FairShake, a major crypto super PAC, won all 48 races where it backed a candidate
- 273 crypto-friendly representatives and 19 senators were elected, according to Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto election data
- Key crypto allies will chair the Senate Banking Committee (Tim Scott) and the House Financial Services Committee (Patrick McHenry)
While the exact size and impact of the crypto voting bloc remains unknown, it clearly helped tip key races and deliver control of Congress to crypto supporters.
Stablecoins and DeFi to Benefit
According to industry insiders, the biggest expected policy changes involve stablecoins and DeFi:
- A stablecoin bill is likely the first crypto priority, followed by a broader market structure bill
- SAB121, which imposed costly custody requirements on banks holding crypto, will likely be repealed, opening the door to more bank involvement in crypto
- “Operation Choke Point 2.0”, which pressured banks to not service crypto clients, will end
- Limits on how much crypto exposure banks can have will be relaxed or eliminated
- Token projects will likely face lighter registration requirements, more akin to pseudo-stock
Tether in particular looks to be a major beneficiary, with Lutnick’s close ties to the administration offering a political lifeline to the besieged stablecoin giant. The DoJ’s criminal probe will likely be paused or dropped entirely under the new regime.
Prediction Markets Notch Key Wins
Crypto-powered prediction markets like Polymarket also notched key wins, outperforming traditional pollsters in forecasting the results well ahead of mainstream media. Many hail this as prediction markets’ breakthrough moment, viewing them as an essential feature of the political landscape moving forward.
With the most unabashedly pro-crypto administration in U.S. history now poised to take power, the stage is set for a major crypto regulatory overhaul and an influx of institutional and retail adoption. While hurdles remain, savvy observers say crypto has clearly emerged as one of the biggest winners of the 2024 election.
