Last week, by executive decree, President Trump took a significant step towards reshaping the future of digital assets by establishing a crypto council led by the investor and entrepreneur David Sacks. This decree, coupled with the recent reversal of SAB 121 – a poorly designed policy that has made prohibitively difficult for banks to hold cryptographic assets – shows that the new administration is serious to remove obstacles to the adoption of cryptography.
This advice represents an opportunity in gold to undo significant damage imposed on cryptographic industry during the Biden administration. Instead of regulatory hostility, the Trump cryptography council can help trace a path to innovation, responsible surveillance and, above all, the protection of customers and retail investors who helped him win the ‘election.
Although the involvement of large crypto companies like Coinbase, A16z and Ripple is crucial, the Council should not be composed solely of industry giants. For too long, retail investors, the backbone of the cryptography revolution, have been ignored, exploited or pure and simple, not only by the Sam Bankman Frieds of the world, but by the very regulatory agency designed for protect. If the new administration seriously concerns the promotion of fair and effective cryptographic policy, it must include a voice for the everyday American.
The need to represent retail sale
Over the past four years, the Biden administration, through managers such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and the former SEC president, Gary Gensler, waged an unfair war against the cryptography industry. ChokePoint 2.0 turned out to be a coordinated effort to reduce cryptographic companies in the banking system, restting access to essential financial services. He paralyzed innovation in the United States, sending offshore retail customers and investors in the hands of Bankman Fried. The regulatory approach by application of peopleler has left entrepreneurs and investors to browse an unpredictable and hostile regulatory environment.
I saw in the first hand how these reckless policies harmed retail investors. As a lawyer working Pro Bono, I represented 75,000 XRP holders in the Ripple case and submitted the thousands of affidavits of retail investors finally cited by judge Analisa Torres in his historic decision. I was also a friendly advisor in other critical cases, including Lbry and Coinbase, defending those who do not have the resources to put pressure on the congress or fight against the government.
The new cryptography council should not make the mistake of becoming an exclusive club elite club. He must include defenders of retail investors, people who have been in the trenches and include the real consequences of political decisions. It is one thing to speak in abstract terms of market structure and innovation. It is another to stand alongside people whose financial future depend on fair and transparent regulations.
A legislative plan to succeed
Although the national conversation has recently focused on things such as a Bitcoin strategic reserve, this administration has a unique opportunity to adopt significant cryptography legislation which promotes growth while ensuring the protection of investors. He must act quickly because the mid-term elections will be here before we know it.
Several key priorities must be processed:
1 and 1 Stable legislation. Create a framework that stimulates demand for American treasury bills while reducing friction and costs for cross -border payments, allowing stablecoins to serve reliable financial tools for trade and global inclusion.
2 Market structure reform. Grant clear authority to the CFTC to supervise digital assets while establishing final directives for the moment when a token is a guarantee and therefore, governed by the dry.
3 and 3 Centralized exchanges monitoring. Require centralized exchanges to separate funds from customers, preventing any communication with the assets of the company; Present legislation to ensure that customer funds are legally protected in bankruptcy procedures, never to be treated as the assets of the bankrupt entity; Exchange mandate to maintain reserves at 100%; Prohibit the rehyperothecation of customer funds, prevent hidden risks and contagion in industry; And, imposing limits and guarantees on leverage to prevent retail investors from being destroyed by excessive risk.
5 Tax policies reform. Reverse obsolete policies that treat the use of crypto as a currency as a taxable event. Small daily transactions should not trigger taxes on capital gains.
A call for inclusive governance
Crypto’s advice will only be effective as the voices it understands. If it just becomes another rally of industry and venture capital leaders, he will fail in his mission to create a just and inclusive policy.
Retail investors and those who use digital assets for payments, funding, savings and investments deserve a seat at the table. It is not only the stakeholders of this industry, but also the voters who played a central role in the election of this administration in office. Their interests must have priority, not only the interests of powerful institutions.
As a person who has devoted my career to the fight for everyday Americans, I urge David Sacks, Bo hines and the administration to ensure that the Crypto Council represents all the voices, not only the most noisy and richest. If we get things correctly, we can establish the United States as a world leader in digital asset innovation while protecting the rights of people who make this industry possible.
Clear and predictable regulations will not only help retail investors, but also stimulation of innovation and economic growth in the United States for too long, promising cryptographic projects have fled abroad due to uncertainty regulatory. A well-designed legal framework will bring these innovators back, ensuring that the United States remains at the forefront of financial technology.
It is our chance to build a framework that promotes confidence, equity and economic opportunities while adopting a first program in America. Please don’t waste it.
