Crypto deregulation under Trump: Promises vs reality

With seven days until US President-elect Donald Trump takes office, many in the crypto industry have been monitoring his prospective staff picks and policy announcements.

Since shifting from calling Bitcoin (BTC) a “scam” in 2021 to claiming to embrace the technology during his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has made many promises to the digital asset industry that could affect regulation and enforcement. Though there is no way to know if he intends to prioritize those promises — or fulfill them at all — after taking office, there has already been some movement in the regulatory landscape before his scheduled inauguration. 

Firing Gary Gensler “on day one”

At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July, Trump promised to fire US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler on his first day in office, Jan. 20. Many speculated that Gensler would be more likely to announce his resignation ahead of any Trump presidency, despite the SEC chair’s term ending in June 2026.

On Nov. 22, roughly two weeks after the US presidential election, Gensler announced that he would step down on the day of Trump’s inauguration, paving the way for the Senate to confirm another SEC chair. The president-elect will have the authority to appoint an acting head of the regulatory body until the Senate can confirm a full-time replacement for Gensler.

On Dec. 4, Trump announced he intended to nominate former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to chair the commission in 2025. Whoever heads the SEC will have some authority to change regulatory policies on digital assets as securities and related enforcement actions — something for which crypto users had heavily criticized Gensler.