If the whole world has been somewhat shaken up by the return of Donald Trump to the White House, it is perhaps no surprise that this has also been true of cryptocurrency. However, not everything has proceeded as some commentators might have imagined.
During the election campaign and ahead of his inauguration, Mr Trump, once a sceptic about crypto, declared he was now not only in favour, but wanted to make the US the bitcoin capital of the world.
That meant replacing all the people in charge of financial regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission with those who had a more pro-crypto, low-regulation approach, as well as creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
In such circumstances, it was hardly surprising that Bitcoin values shot up, soaring past the $100,000 mark for the first time.
Trump’s Latest Crypto Moves
Indeed, President Trump has just sent a recorded message to Coinbase’s State of Crypto summit, describing it as an “honor” to be seen as a ‘crypto president’.
He added that work is now taking place to pass the GENIUS Act, “supporting the creation of dollar-backed stablecoins”, adding that the administration is also “working to create clear and simple market frameworks that will allow America to dominate the future of crypto and Bitcoin.”
All of this is worth taking note of, especially for those who have XRP Credit Cards. Such cards will become increasingly useful as long as crypto is increasingly seen as a viable alternative to fiat currency, both as an investment and as a means of exchange. The letter will mean, on a simple practical level, that you can spend on your card in more places.
The work being undertaken by the US government is also worth reflecting on amid the whirlwind of activity by the new administration and the waves of controversy that have been generated across a range of issues.
Bitcoin Still Booming Despite Controversies
Crypto is not immune to this, with a recent $TRUMP meme coin dinner proving highly controversial amid suggestions that buyers might gain undue influence. However, whatever one thinks of that meme coin or the administration’s actions and policies in general, those with a focus on crypto should still consider what the implications are of the new policies.
Some suggested that the Bitcoin bounce would soon implode and leave new investors with burnt fingers. However, that hasn’t happened. As Investopedia has noted, Bitcoin’s value has returned to near record highs in recent days, well above $100,000 again.
All this is happening at a time when it can be easy to take the eye off anything that is going on outside Trump’s America, which has dominated news headlines so much since January. But plenty is happening elsewhere, too.
While crypto regulation has become looser in the US, even as more structures are built to support it, regulators in other countries have been drawing up their own approaches.
A New Proposal In Britain
A notable development has taken place here in the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed a proposal to end the ban on selling crypto exchange-traded notes to retail investors, with this legalisation bringing Britain into line with other countries where such notes are already permitted.
Notably, the beneficiaries of this will be individual consumers instead of professional investors, provided the trade happens on an FCA-approved investment platform. A consultation will now take place on the plans.
“This consultation demonstrates our commitment to supporting the growth and competitiveness of the UK’s crypto industry,” said the executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA, David Geale.
He added: “We want to rebalance our approach to risk and lifting the ban would allow people to make the choice on whether such a high-risk investment is right for them.”
The FCA explained that this plan is part of a wider process being undertaken by the FCA to establish an appropriate regulatory framework for crypto. Other recently published proposals concerned the establishment of stablecoins, while it intends to retain the ban on allowing retail access to cryptoasset deliveries.
Roadmaps To The Future
All this is part of what the FCA calls a crypto roadmap as it works out the best regime for regulating such assets in the UK. Of course, many of the conclusions it comes to and rules it decides upon will be very different from those in the US and other jurisdictions.
Both factors are important. One of them matters because it will govern the rules by which investors of all types will be governed, sometimes constraining activity but also providing protection. However, the decisions taken in other countries, not least the US, will also impact the value of crypto, not least when governments enthusiastically seek to support it.