Kraken, the second largest U.S. exchange, announced that it was listing more than 19 tokens, including BNB, COW, FWOG, MOODENG, and PNUT. According to Fox Business, the news came as Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) is currently in advanced talks to purchase crypto exchange Bakkt. The TMTG also announced the registration of the trademark ‘TruthFi,’ which will be another crypto exchange.

Anish Jain, the founder of WadzChain, suggested that Trump’s leadership could usher in an era where digital assets are more recognized as legitimate parts of the financial ecosystem. The Global Legal Insights platform argued that there was a serious issue with how the U.S. SEC differentiated (or defined) exchanges and crypto dealers. CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham also noted that there was a need to clarify whether digital assets were utility tokens or securities, which could determine their listing criteria. 

Kraken believes Trump’s administration will overhaul crypto regulation 

Kraken’s Got the Sauce: 19 New Tokens Dropping Soon

Kraken’s cooking up a fresh lineup, adding 19 tokens like $BNB, $DYDX, $AR, $COW, and more to their listing roadmap.

Kraken’s now the #2 exchange in the U.S., so expect eyes on these coins.

And here’s the twist: with Trump… pic.twitter.com/8sjGnixSUw

— Mario Nawfal’s Roundtable (@RoundtableSpace) November 23, 2024

U.S.-based Kraken announced that it was including 19 more tokens, including the popular memecoin Moodeng, in its coin listing roadmap. The Kraken crypto exchange platform confirmed that it currently listed 300+ coins that were carefully vetted and chosen from the best established and emerging tokens across the crypto ecosystem. Kraken disclosed that it would integrate three blockchains (BNB Smart Chain, DX, and Arweave) and list their respective native tokens (BNB, DYDX, and AR) for trading. The other 16 tokens would be listed on a previously integrated blockchain, clarified the exchange. 

Reuters reported that crypto executives and related companies anticipated the Trump administration’s intention to ease regulations on crypto, including in the way U.S. exchanges carried out coin listing. However, the director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America, Adam Rust, feared that consumers were likely to be exposed to unregulated products under the guise of promoting innovation and autonomy. 

The U.S. SEC said the industry was plagued by widespread fraud, mismanagement of customer funds, and lack of regulatory user protection. It added that the industry lacked most of the basic protections that regulated other financial products like stocks, bonds, and commodity markets.

“It is a field that is rife with abuse and fraud…And some of the leaders of this whole field are either in jail, about to go to jail, or awaiting extradition. I mean, tens of billions of dollars have been put at risk.”

–Gary Gensler 

Mark Hays, associate director for crypto and financial technology at Americans for Financial Reforms, claimed that the crypto industry had simply perfected Washington’s game of pay-to-play politics despite claiming to transform finance. He added that the crypto industry expected policymakers in Congress to deliver on policy goals because of its heavy spending in the elections. 

Trump’s investment in crypto exchanges could be a game changer for U.S. exchanges

Trump Media and Technology Group was in the process of buying the Bakkt exchange. However, the valuation details were unclear. Bakkt, on its part, declined to comment on the market rumors and speculation. Nonetheless, TMTG’s purchase of the exchange would consolidate Trump’s involvement with an industry he championed in the run-up to the elections. 

TMTG also registered the trademark ‘TruthFi’ in preparation for the launch of a crypto exchange. According to an application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Trump was set to his own dedicated exchange. On the contrary, the chief ethics lawyer of the George W. Bush administration, Richard Painter, said there was a strong conflict of interest between Trump and this initiative. He pointed out that it was a big problem for Trump just as it was a big problem that members of Congress traded in crypto and had received huge donations from the crypto industry. 

However, Trump was likely to benefit from his dual role as president and entrepreneur since the criminal conflict of interest laws did not apply to the president, vice president, or Congressional members, observed Painter. The ethics lawyer believes Trump’s plans are larger than developing a national crypto exchange and encouraging the industry’s development.3

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