American investors hope for clear crypto regulations in 2025
Donald Trump has made big promises to the crypto industry.
Donald Trump has made big promises to the crypto industry. On January 20, 2025 he will be sworn in and thus the 47th president of the U.S. Before his second term, he has nominated several senior figures in his administration who are known to be crypto-friendly, including Paul Atkins as head of the financial regulator SEC. Atkins has in the past spoken as an advocate for crypto, in contrast to SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The latter has been tough on American crypto companies over allegations of unregistered securities offerings. He initiated, among other things, proceedings against Ripple and Coinbase.
Many industry representatives in the United States hope that the 2025 transition will lead to better cryptocurrency legislation. In a post on X on December 31, 2024, Stuart Alderoty, head of the legal department at Ripple, wrote that he hopes the SEC will confirm that "a token is not a security."
Ripple has filed an appeal against a SEC ruling from August 2024, in which the company was ordered to pay $125 million.
As early as summer 2024, Paul Grewal, head of Coinbase's legal team, noted a win for the crypto industry. The Supreme Court had scrapped the Chevron doctrine. Previously, courts had to rely on the agency's interpretations, like the SEC, when laws were unclear. With the doctrine's removal, judges have since had the final say on questions where the law is unclear.
In 2025, proceedings between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) against crypto firms will continue in the U.S. After 2024 saw former FTX executives convicted and Binance's former CEO Changpeng Zhao sentenced to four months in prison, cases in the U.S. continue against Celsius' former CEO Alex Mashinsky and Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon. Because Trump also appoints federal prosecutors, who have more power after the Chevron doctrine was scrapped, these posts could soon be filled with people more favorable to cryptocurrencies. Donald Trump has already proposed replacing Damian Williams with Jay Clayton as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
