Home Donald Trump could appoint crypto-czar in first ever White House role

Donald Trump could appoint crypto-czar in first ever White House role

TLDR

  • Donald Trump's incoming administration is exploring the creation of a new White House role dedicated to cryptocurrency, aimed at fostering industry ties and facilitating government collaboration.
  • Trump's evolving stance on Bitcoin, which he once criticized in 2019, aligns with the digital currency's surge, with Bitcoin nearing $100,000 amid his supportive rhetoric.
  • The administration plans to reshape the SEC with pro-crypto leadership, including firing Gary Gensler and potentially appointing former Coinbase executive Brian Brooks.

Incoming president Donald Trump is all in on cryptocurrency, and now his team is contemplating whether or not to create a new White House role around it.

Trump’s team is already vetting candidates, but it’s not a definite slamdunk that the role would come to fruition. However, if the team were to go through with it, it’d be the first in the White House.

Originally reported in Bloomberg, those within the crypto industry are pushing for its creation to provide better access to Trump himself. The president-elect has been courted by the digital currency industry, appearing at a Bitcoin conference in July and holding multiple meetings over the summer.

This new role would act as the go-between for not only the sought-after Trump connection but also government bodies as well. According to the report, Trump’s appointed crypto-czar would also be involved with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its small team.

Trump is taking a new approach to cryptocurrency, as in 2019 during his first term he claimed he wasn’t “a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies”. His newfound love of the technology has seen the price skyrocket, as at the time of writing Bitcoin (BTC) is nearing the coveted $100,000 price mark.

By inserting a new crypto-focused role at the White House, it could see the price of Bitcoin rise again.

Trump and Crypto vs the SEC

Another part of Trump’s plan, once he takes over, is to fire SEC chair, Gary Gensler. The crypto-skeptic has taken the industry to task and tallied up a reported cost of $429 million in legal fees. He has also repeatedly said that he doesn’t view cryptocurrencies as a financial asset, or security.

One person lined up to take over the role is Brian Brooks, a former Coinbase and Binance US executive, as Trump seeks to place more crypto-friendly staff in the SEC.

However, the incoming Trump administration’s crypto goals could be furthered by the appointment of a new Senate leader, John Thune. The crypto industry has some renewed hopes, as Thune’s track record has been pro-crypto.

Featured image: Wikicommons (Trump, White House), Bitcoin.org

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The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Joel Loynds
Tech Journalist

Joel Loynd’s obsession with uncovering bad games and even worse hardware so you don’t have to has led him on this path. Since the age of six, he’s been poking at awful games and oddities from his ever-expanding Steam library. He’s been writing about video games since 2008, writing for sites such as WePC and PC Guide, as well as covering gaming for Scan Computers, More recently Joel was Dexerto’s E-Commerce and Deputy Tech Editor, delving deep into the exploding handheld market and covering the weird and wonderful world of the latest tech.

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