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SEC task force stokes new crypto optimism as industry awaits Trump actions
A new SEC cryptocurrency task force announced on Donald Trump's second day in office helped stoke some new investor enthusiasm for digital assets as the crypto world waited for executive orders from the new president.
The goal of the "crypto task force" from the Securities and Exchange Commission is to help the US regulator "draw clear regulatory lines, provide realistic paths to registration, craft sensible disclosure frameworks, and deploy enforcement resources judiciously," according to the SEC.
The price of bitcoin ( BTC-USD ), the world's largest cryptocurrency, rose Tuesday back above $106,000 after sliding Monday following Trump's inauguration.
The SEC clashed repeatedly with some of the biggest players in the crypto world during Joe Biden's time in office. Trump promised to replace Biden's SEC boss Gary Gensler with someone more favorable to the industry.
His choice, Paul Atkins, is still seeking confirmation in the Senate, and SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda is running the agency as acting chair.
Industry executives are testing Trump's new SEC with fresh applications this week for exchange-traded funds that, if approved, would give investors even more exposure to various crypto assets.
On Tuesday, Rex Shares and Osprey Funds jointly filed seven different applications to launch crypto-related ETFs, including those holding shares of XRP , SOL , Dogecoin ( DOGE ), and the president's official memecoin ( TRUMP ). Last year, the SEC allowed BlackRock and other giant money managers to launch spot bitcoin ETFs.
"We are most definitely anticipating a more welcoming approach from the SEC, and you will see more product filings from us," said Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research for asset manager VanEck, one among the managers allowed to issue spot bitcoin ETFs in 2024.
One slight disappointment for the industry so far this week is that Trump — who in 2024 pledged to make the United States the " crypto capital of the planet " — ended his first day in office without mentioning crypto or releasing any executive orders targeted at the industry. Many in the industry still expect those orders to happen.
"The market is absolutely disappointed that there was no activity with regard to crypto yesterday," Dan Hughes, chief technology officer and founder for crypto startup Radix, said in emailed comments.
"Any executive order targeted positively towards crypto, even if minor, would turn the tide pretty fast," Hughes added.
One immediate action the new president could have taken is repealing Biden’s own March 2022 executive order on crypto assets, which urged regulators to "take strong steps to reduce the risks that digital assets could pose."
"I feel a little disappointed that was not repealed, along with the 80 executive orders that were," said Sigel of VanEck.
"The longer that there's no executive order regarding this asset class, the more impatient the market is likely to get, but I do think that [the Trump administration] bought themselves some time with rhetoric," Sigel added.
One crucial rule that many in the crypto and banking industry hope to see repealed is a piece of accounting guidance from the SEC that virtually stops banks from holding crypto in custody for clients.
Much of what Trump has promised the crypto world can be fulfilled with personnel changes. And the incoming administration has already named three pro-crypto regulators as acting heads of regulatory agencies.
On Tuesday, FDIC acting chairman Travis Hill published a list of priorities for the bank regulatory agency under his watch. One included more transparency in how the agency approaches digital assets.
The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission also named one of its crypto-friendlier commissioners, Caroline Pham, as its acting chair on Monday. Pham, a Biden nominee and former Citigroup banker, supported clearer regulation for digital assets as well as granting the CFTC more oversight in policing the market.
Many in the crypto industry are willing to wait longer for more substantive changes.
Leonard Lancia, CEO of crypto market maker Portofino Technologies, said, "for the crypto market, the potential for a significant and well-thought-out Executive Order (EO) remains an exciting opportunity."
One regional bank boss, Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence, told Yahoo Finance that as overall regulatory rules for crypto become clearer, stablecoins are an area Fifth Third Bank "certainly would contemplate playing in."
One of the biggest players in the crypto industry, Coinbase ( COIN ) CEO Brian Armstrong, told Yahoo Finance Tuesday that he is convinced Trump "really wants to be the first bitcoin president."
Armstrong met with Trump prior to and after the election to advocate for the crypto industry.
He said Trump is "excited" about the idea of a strategic bitcoin reserve . Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) is leading the efforts in Congress to create such a reserve.
"Any government that holds gold should also hold bitcoin as a reserve," he said, noting, "If the US gets a strategic bitcoin reserve, probably the rest of the G20 will follow, or many of them, and that's just going to drive the bitcoin prices way up."
David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto, and other areas in finance.
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Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Leonard Lancia's name. We regret the error.