• Crypto, a roughly 15-year-old industry that’s largely operated on the fringes of finance, is at a crossroads. For years, it has blamed a hostile regulatory environment for not allowing it to unleash its supposedly revolutionary technology on Americans. Now, though, their favorite bogeyman, Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission chief under President Joe Biden, is gone. Crypto cheerleaders have been installed throughout the government.
• The SEC has dropped several enforcement cases against crypto companies and, starting Friday, is hosting a series of public roundtables “to discuss key areas of interest in the regulation of crypto assets.”
• Under President Donald Trump, there’s virtually nothing stopping crypto companies from creating and selling their products.
• At the same time, the same White House’s chaotic trade policy is undermining financial markets’ appetite for risk, leaving bitcoin in limbo, more than 20% off from its record high in January. And while the industry is grateful for all the attention, the White House’s embrace of some of crypto’s less savory aspects, like meme coins, has given serious investors pause.
