Author: shaofaye123, Foresight News
Only two weeks after Trump's election, his 2.0 cabinet team has already been nominated. Among its members are not only bitcoin believers but also supporters of altcoins and dogecoin. This article will give you a quick glance at Trump's 2.0 team and their stance on cryptocurrency.
Newly elected President Trump himself owns over 5 million dollars in cryptocurrency. According to Arkham data, Donald Trump currently holds 5.4 million dollars in cryptocurrency, with his largest holding being ETH, owning 495.664 ETH, worth about 1.7 million dollars. His top five holdings also include: WETH (about 1.64 million dollars), TRUMP (about 1 million dollars), TROG (about 400,000 dollars), GUA (about 150,000 dollars).
Overview of the 2.0 cabinet list
On November 23, Trump announced that he would nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture. Thus, the formation of Trump's 2.0 cabinet is complete, and the speed and efficiency of this nomination have attracted attention from the outside world.
Above is the complete list of Trump's cabinet (some positions require Senate confirmation) Source: Political News
The members of Trump's 2.0 cabinet starkly differ from the 1.0 version, ranging from financial tycoons to medical geniuses to news anchors. Compared to the 'Dream Team', this update seems more striking. Among the 25 members of the 2.0 cabinet (excluding Trump), a significant proportion are crypto-friendly individuals, all holding a supportive attitude towards cryptocurrency to varying degrees, some even having publicly disclosed their crypto asset holdings.
Vice President J.D. Vance: A strong supporter of cryptocurrency
J.D. Vance, born in 1984, is a writer and venture capitalist. As a rising star in American politics, he is expected this year to become the second youngest vice president in U.S. history with just two years of political experience. J.D. Vance's upbringing was quite difficult; he has a complex family background, with his mother long troubled by drugs and alcohol, raised by his grandparents. After graduating from high school, Vance joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Iraq War. After retiring, he attended Ohio State University and Yale Law School, earning a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy, as well as a Juris Doctor.
Vance is widely known for his bestselling book (Hillbilly Elegy), which not only made him famous but is also considered one of the key works behind Trump's 2016 election victory. In 2022, Vance won a seat as a federal senator from Ohio with his positive stance on cryptocurrency, advocating for a more lenient policy on digital asset regulation. This year, he drafted a series of guidelines for the crypto industry, including support for the repeal of the SAB-121 accounting standard and legislative proposals for reforming digital asset regulation. Currently, Vance's draft has received support from 71 Democratic House members and is expected to be formally submitted soon.
J.D. Vance is very friendly towards cryptocurrency and has publicly mentioned it multiple times. When opposing the Canadian authorities' ban on the bank accounts of truckers during pandemic control, he stated, 'This is the reason why cryptocurrency is thriving; if your political views are wrong, the regime will cut off your access to banking services.' In February of this year, when the SEC initiated enforcement actions against the cryptocurrency mining company Debt Box, he also raised questions.
The latest disclosure of J.D. Vance's holdings shows that as of 2022, J.D. Vance had between 100,001 and 250,000 dollars in bitcoin, held through Coinbase. J.D. Vance also opened accounts with Robinhood and Charles Schwab but did not disclose specific holding details.
The new 'God of Wealth' is a crypto enthusiast
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
The Treasury Department is the hub of U.S. economic governance. It is a department that manages major financial affairs, responsible for financial management, brokerage policy formulation, financial supervision, etc.
Scott Bessent, a hedge fund mogul and celebrity in New York's financial circle, a disciple of Soros. His personal experience is quite legendary; he worked for George Soros 30 years ago; in 1992, he helped trigger the collapse of the British pound, rising to fame and earning over 1 billion dollars. He left in 2015 to found Key Square Group, which at its peak managed assets exceeding 5 billion dollars.
He is the first U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee to publicly support cryptocurrency. In interviews, he has never hesitated to express his love for cryptocurrency, stating, 'Cryptocurrency is very much in line with the spirit of the Republican Party.' 'Cryptocurrency represents freedom, and the crypto economy is an irreversible trend.' However, unfortunately, there has not yet been any public disclosure of Bessent's cryptocurrency holdings.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
The U.S. Department of Commerce is primarily responsible for trade investment, export controls, semiconductor research, and artificial intelligence, as well as coastal fisheries and patents. Additionally, it oversees the Census Bureau, National Weather Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It plays a leading role in economic policy, international trade, and high-tech development. For cryptocurrency, it determines the future direction of U.S. policy in this emerging field and resource allocation.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a Jewish financier and major donor during Trump's campaign. Lutnick was born in 1961, graduated from Hofstra University, and worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, where he became CEO. Since 2021, Cantor Fitzgerald has been involved in cryptocurrency-related business, helping Tether manage its U.S. Treasury inventory backing its USDT stablecoin. Recently, it announced a bitcoin financing business that will provide leverage for bitcoin investors, with initial funding up to 2 billion dollars. After being nominated as Secretary of Commerce by Trump, he plans to pass the company's Tether business relationship to his son Brandon Lutnick.
His attitude towards cryptocurrency is also quite positive, stating, 'We have the largest capital market and the strongest financial system. If we do not take the lead in promoting the widespread use of cryptocurrency, we will lose this advantage.' As a super fan of bitcoin, Lutnick has repeatedly supported the development of bitcoin in public. At the 2024 Bitcoin conference, he stated, 'Bitcoin and gold are the same. Bitcoin should be traded like gold—globally, without exception.' 'Bitcoin is the future of the economy!'
Lutnick recently revealed in an interview with Professional Capital Management founder Anthony Pompliano, 'I own bitcoins worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and I expect this number to reach billions soon.'
Other crypto-friendly individuals
In addition, cabinet members from other departments also hold some cryptocurrency:
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has also publicly disclosed his bitcoin holdings. Records filed in 2023 show that Waltz owns between 50,000 and 100,000 dollars in bitcoin.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was also disclosed to hold between 1,000 and 15,000 dollars in litecoin and ethereum in the second half of 2017.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. has also stated that he will invest most of his wealth in cryptocurrency and claims to be a staunch supporter of bitcoin.
Elon Musk, right-hand man
The Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E) is a new initiative proposed by Trump. Its main goal is to reduce the federal budget deficit and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations. Both of its nominated candidates have deep connections with cryptocurrency.
Co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk
The concept of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) originated from a discussion between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, in which Musk proposed establishing a streamlined department for government efficiency. Musk was appointed by Trump as a co-leader of the 'Department of Government Efficiency', and the department's abbreviation is the same as the code for Dogecoin (DOGE), making him the most suitable messenger of the crypto spirit. Musk and Ramaswamy will work with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to address 'massive waste and fraud' in government spending.
Elon Reeve Musk, born in South Africa, is undoubtedly an outstanding businessman, known for his key roles in space company SpaceX and automotive company Tesla, Inc. He also owns the company X Corp, which operates the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). As of November 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth at 304 billion dollars. As a key member of Trump's camp, he has publicly supported Trump multiple times, and his tweets have a significant impact on cryptocurrency, with PAC, PNUT, WOULD, and others having soared hundreds of times under his influence.
In terms of crypto assets, according to Arkham Intelligence, Tesla holds 11,509 BTC, valued at approximately 1.11 billion dollars, while Musk personally 'still holds a large amount of Dogecoin.'
Co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency Vivek Ramaswamy
Vivek Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was once named 'India's Young Leader', holds a Juris Doctor from Yale University, and is a genius in the pharmaceutical industry, founding the American pharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences in 2014. He later entered American politics and ran as a Republican in this year's presidential election, having quite a legendary experience.
He is very optimistic about cryptocurrency. He not only claims to hold digital assets himself but has also publicly supported crypto compliance. At the 2023 Miami Bitcoin conference, he announced that he would accept cryptocurrency donations for his campaign. At the Messari Mainnet conference, he actively expressed forward-looking views on cryptocurrency and announced an upcoming cryptocurrency policy blueprint. In early November, he announced that his asset management company Strive would include bitcoin in clients' portfolios.
Conclusion
However, after Trump completes the nominations, it does not mean that these cabinet members can immediately take office; they still need to wait for the Senate's approval before they can start their roles. But under normal circumstances, the likelihood of Trump's cabinet list being approved by the Senate is quite high.
This 2.0 update seems particularly friendly to the crypto industry across various departments, but the road to regulation and compliance is still long. With the approval of ETFs, interest rate cuts, and the completion of the 'crypto dream team', we believe we can witness the arrival of the golden age of cryptocurrency together.
