President-elect Donald Trump is considering appointing an openly pro-cryptocurrency candidate as head of the Securities Exchange Commission—a so-called “crypto tsar.”
According to reporting from Wired magazine, as Trump prepares to choose the new SEC chair, he has asked the crypto industry to provide advice and recommendations.
“Trump’s shortlist is filled with former government officials, crypto executives, and lawyers who support the crypto industry: Paul Atkins, former SEC commissioner, and Brian Brooks, former acting US comptroller of the currency, are the top two contenders, sources familiar tell WIRED, but the vetting process is ongoing.”
During the election campaign, Trump came out firmly in support of cryptocurrency. He spoke at the Nashville Bitcoin Conference in July and said he would fire current SEC head honcho Gary Gensler, who is hostile to cryptocurrency, “on day one.” Trump said the head of the SEC should “[believe] America should build the future, not block the future.”
Trump promised to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” and build a national stockpile of Bitcoin.
The crypto industry spent nearly $120 million backing pro-crypto candidates in the election. That campaign was largely a success, and saw the unseating of avowed enemies of crypto like Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and wins for pro-crypto candidates in Michigan, West Virginia, Indiana, Alabama and North Carolina.
Bitcoin’s value rose by 40.8% during November, and briefly passed $99,000, before falling to around $97,000 at time of writing.
Analysts now expect Bitcoin to break the six-figure mark soon. On 22 November, stablecoin flows to crypto exchanges made a record monthly high of over $9.7 billion—further evidence that 2025 is likely to be a very good year for crypto investors.