In July, at a bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump promised to fire Gensler if re-elected, drawing the worst applause of the night. “I will appoint an SEC chairman who will build the future, not block the future,” Trump said.
Last week, Gensler announced that he would resign from his office on January 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration. Representatives of the industry where Gensler was so vilified are now helping to choose his successor, sources tell WIRED.
The SEC overhaul promise was one of many made to the crypto industry by Trump on the campaign trail. At the Nashville conference, he promised to strengthen the US as the leading place for bitcoin mining, create a national “bitcoin stockpile”, and establish a framework for stablecoin enterprises, singing from the crypto hymn sheet.
In June, Trump hosted executives from the crypto mining industry at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort. “We had a very long, deep conversation with him—and he was very interested. He was very committed and asked good questions,” said Brian Morgenstern, head of public policy at bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms and a former official in the first Trump administration, who was present.
Trump has even started getting into crypto himself. In the summer, his campaign began accepting crypto donations, and his sons founded their own crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, which helped promote it. Last Thursday, the New York Times reported that Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, filed for a trademark for what it described as a crypto payment service called TruthFi.
Figures aligned with the crypto industry have already been appointed to Trump’s cabinet. His choice for Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, heads the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which owns the assets of Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin operator. Likewise, vice president-elect JD Vance, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and new Department of Government Efficiency director Vivek Ramaswamy have all expressed pro-crypto views.
“Based on what I’ve heard in private conversations, my impression has been that the incoming administration is taking their pro-bitcoin and crypto campaign promises and intending to conduct a rigorous evaluation of development options. [appointments to regulatory positions] at their best,” said Christopher Calicott, managing director of bitcoin-focused VC firm Trammell Venture Partners.
The price of bitcoin has risen to record highs, shy of $100,000 per coin, since Trump won re-election earlier this month.
“The whole industry is going to have a bright future in a lot of different areas,” said Morgenstern. “We have no reason to doubt President Trump.”
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