Jessy, Golden Finance
Trump's inauguration day is approaching. He has also nominated cabinet members for his preferred new government. There is no doubt that Trump and some of his nominated cabinet members are crypto-friendly individuals.
Thanks to the crypto-friendly policies of the Trump administration, combined with the U.S. rate cuts, the cryptocurrency industry has officially entered a bull market.
For example, as projects highly associated with the Trump family, WLIF continues to buy tokens such as AAVE, LINK, and ENA, which have all seen substantial gains.
The subsequent market trends have become very clear. As the U.S. regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies becomes clearer, DeFi-related projects will become one of the main lines of the upcoming bull market. The Trump family's continuous bets on DeFi projects are also a manifestation of this trend.
In terms of policy, the (21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act) is likely to pass. After the bill is passed, it will clearly define when cryptocurrencies are commodities or securities. If the bill clarifies that related tokens are deemed decentralized and functional, they will be considered digital commodities and not subject to SEC regulation, and if they meet the centralization degree requirements, they can obtain an exemption period. This will encourage DeFi projects to evolve towards greater decentralization. Additionally, the bill requires the SEC and CFTC to study the development of DeFi, assess its impact on traditional financial markets, and potential regulatory strategies, which will attract more DeFi projects to "return" to the U.S., promoting the prosperity and development of the DeFi market.
It is precisely based on this regulatory change in the U.S. that DeFi has become an important narrative in this bull market.
What projects are Trump and his cabinet members buying and supporting? What does this indicate about the future direction of cryptocurrency development?
Trump:
His business ventures into cryptocurrency
WLFI:
World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is a cryptocurrency project endorsed by the Trump family, officially launched on September 16, 2024. Trump claims to be the Chief Crypto Advocate for the World Liberty Financial project.
Trump's two oldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, jointly serve as Web 3 ambassadors for World Liberty Financial, while his 18-year-old son Barron Trump is a DeFi visionary for World Liberty Financial.
In the white paper of this project, it is stated that Trump will occasionally promote the project. In return, Trump's company will receive 75% of the project's income.
The project mainly focuses on building lending services, such as a credit account system based on Aave and the Ethereum blockchain, as well as a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. The governance token of the project is WLFI.
Currently, the project is still in the public sale phase, having sold 1/4 of the tokens and raised $75 million.
WLFI has also been continuously purchasing tokens from other projects. Its purchasing activity over the past period is as follows:
ETH: A total of $30 million was spent to purchase 8,105 ETH in the past 12 days, with an average price of $3,701.
AAVE: Purchased 6,137 AAVE at an average price of $324.
LINK: Purchased 78,387 LINK at an average price of $25.5.
ENA: Purchased 509,955 ENA at an average price of approximately $0.981.
Ondo: Purchased 134,216 ONDO tokens at an average price of approximately $1.86.
CB BTC: Purchased 103 CB BTC at a unit price of $97,181.
WLFI primarily buys tokens related to DeFi projects, highlighting the ambition of the WLIF project, which itself aims to build an on-chain lending platform and includes an on-chain trading platform. The tokens it purchases include stablecoins, collateralized lending, RWA, oracles, and wrapped Bitcoin projects, basically covering all aspects of on-chain DeFi.
With Trump's ascent to power, the gradual clarification of U.S. regulations is likely to usher in a flourishing stage for DeFi.
2. Other business layouts in the cryptocurrency field
Companies owned by the Trump family are also actively laying out plans in the cryptocurrency business. For instance, the Trump family owns the cryptocurrency exchange "World Liberty Financial," and their social media platform "Truth" has submitted an application to create a cryptocurrency payment service called "truthfi," and they also plan to acquire the cryptocurrency service company Bakkt. These business layouts are closely related to virtual currencies.
Trump's cryptocurrency holdings:
According to the holdings in Trump's wallet, the token he holds the most is TROG, which is a Meme Coin, with ETH ranking second in his portfolio, holding over 495 ETH valued at $1.99 million. Additionally, he holds over 478 WETH worth $1.93 million.
Some Meme Coins in his wallet, such as Trump, are basically obtained from airdrops, while Ethereum comes from donations received during his presidential campaign and profits from selling related NFTs, including some revenue from WLFI sales.
Trump’s wallet also contains mainstream tokens like Matic, though the source is uncertain.
In politics, Trump aims to make the U.S. a crypto-friendly country, starting with making Bitcoin a national reserve, followed by establishing a series of policies and regulations to support the development of the cryptocurrency industry.
The members of Trump's cabinet are also generally crypto-friendly individuals or hold cryptocurrencies themselves.
Cryptocurrency holdings of the members of the Trump administration
Trump's cabinet members include 15 cabinet ministers and some cabinet-level officials, totaling around 20 people.
Among these 20 individuals, there are at least six crypto-friendly personnel, several of whom have publicly stated their holdings in cryptocurrencies. These individuals are:
David Sacks
He was appointed by Trump as the head of Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency Affairs at the White House, while also serving as the chairman of the President's Advisory Council on Technology.
He has a very positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies, and his venture capital firm Craft Ventures has made numerous investments in the cryptocurrency field, covering various areas such as infrastructure, CeFi, DeFi, and NFTs, including projects like dydx and Lightning Labs.
Sacks’ position as the head of the White House’s Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency Affairs will help lead to the realization of Trump’s campaign promise to relax regulations on the cryptocurrency industry. He will serve as the direct contact between cryptocurrency advocates and the White House, as well as a liaison between Trump, Congress, and federal agencies dealing with digital assets, promoting the formulation and implementation of relevant policies to secure a more favorable policy space for the cryptocurrency industry.
Currently, based on publicly available information, he holds at least Bitcoin and Solana.
Bitcoin: In 2012, David Sacks began investing in Bitcoin and adopted a long-term holding strategy of "set it and forget it." He views Bitcoin as a tool for hedging against the inflation of fiat currency and censorship.
Solana: In October 2021, David Sacks revealed on a podcast that he holds a large amount of Solana. Even after the FTX collapse in 2022 triggered turmoil in the crypto market, he did not sell his Solana holdings and firmly believes in its potential to surpass Ethereum in the future.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Nominated by Trump as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
He believes that cryptocurrencies are a good way to hedge against inflation and considers Bitcoin to be the "perfect base currency." He hopes that the U.S. will become the global center for cryptocurrencies, proposing a series of policy recommendations such as exempting capital gains tax on converting Bitcoin to USD and using hard assets like Bitcoin to back the dollar. He also plans to promote budget transparency, intending to place the entire U.S. budget on the blockchain to enhance transparency and accountability, allowing every American to view budget items at any time to prevent corruption and misuse of funds.
It has been disclosed that the family trust of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. holds Bitcoin valued between $100,000 and $2.5 million. He personally purchased 21 Bitcoins during his campaign and bought 3 Bitcoins for each of his children, demonstrating support for cryptocurrencies through actual investment.
Howard Lutnick
Nominated by Trump as the Secretary of Commerce. If confirmed, he will also directly oversee the work of the U.S. Trade Representative's office.
He believes that Bitcoin has values such as decentralization and is the only asset that cannot be stripped away by anyone. He also advocates treating Bitcoin as a commodity, similar to gold and oil.
Lutnick is a staunch supporter of the stablecoin Tether. His company, Cantor Fitzgerald, not only holds undisclosed shares of Tether but also manages Tether's huge reserve assets, most of which exist in the form of U.S. Treasury bonds.
On July 27, 2024, at the Bitcoin 2024 conference held in Nashville, Tennessee, Lutnick announced a $200 million Bitcoin loan program to provide leverage for Bitcoin holders.
Tulsi Gabbard
Nominated by Trump as the Director of National Intelligence.
In 2019, Tulsi Gabbard signed a bill aimed at preventing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from regulating cryptocurrencies. She believes this bill will protect investors, promote innovation, and bring more diversified business opportunities to her region, driving the development of the U.S. in the digital economy.
In 2023, Tulsi Gabbard publicly criticized the Biden administration's exploration of central bank digital currencies at the Bitcoin 2023 conference. She believes that central bank digital currencies would record transaction information, increasing the monitoring risk for ordinary Americans, thereby threatening people's freedom and economic autonomy.
She emphasizes that Bitcoin, as a decentralized cryptocurrency, has the characteristic of not being manipulable by third parties, capable of preserving the privacy and freedom of cash transactions in the digital world, thus believing that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have a positive significance for social development.
According to public documents from December 2017, he holds Ethereum and LTC valued between $1,000 and $15,000, and it is unclear if he still holds them.
Summary
As the first U.S. president to openly support the cryptocurrency industry, Trump is not only actively holding crypto assets himself but is also expanding his business ventures into the crypto field. From selling NFTs in the early years to currently launching DeFi projects and acquiring exchanges, Trump's involvement in the cryptocurrency industry has deepened.
Not only is he deeply involved in the cryptocurrency industry in the business sector, but after becoming president, it is highly likely that the U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve will come true. Coupled with his push for crypto legislation, relaxing regulatory measures, and establishing specialized institutions and positions for cryptocurrency, it is evident that this will facilitate better coordination between the government and the cryptocurrency industry, allowing the cryptocurrency industry to operate within a legal framework and in a relatively relaxed environment.
The cabinet members chosen by Trump are also generally representatives of crypto-friendly policies. Although the SEC chairman Paul Atkins he chose does not have publicly available information showing he holds virtual currency assets, he is actually a staunch supporter of cryptocurrencies. It is expected that after he takes office, he will review multiple rules and court enforcement actions under Gary Gensler and take a more lenient stance on cryptocurrencies, seeking rule changes aimed at promoting capital formation and creating a more favorable regulatory environment for the crypto industry.
Some cabinet members, although their nominated positions are not directly related to the economy, have also clearly expressed support for cryptocurrencies. As policymakers, only those who actually hold virtual currencies will create genuinely crypto-friendly policies.
Currently, based on the holdings of Trump and some cabinet members, it can be seen that the U.S. may invest significantly in the DeFi sector.
