Jessy, Golden Finance
The day of Trump's official inauguration is getting closer. He has also nominated members of the new government cabinet that he favors. 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, coupled with the U.S. interest rate cuts, the cryptocurrency industry has officially welcomed a bull market.
For example, with WLIF, a project closely tied to the Trump family, continuously buying AAVE, LINK, ENA, and other tokens, these tokens have seen significant price increases.
And the subsequent market situation has also become very clear. With the gradual clarification of the U.S. regulation on cryptocurrencies, DeFi-related projects will become one of the main lines of the upcoming bull market. The Trump family's sustained bets on DeFi projects also reflect this trend.
In terms of policy, the (21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act) is very likely to pass. Once the bill is passed, it will clearly define when cryptocurrencies are treated as commodities or securities. If the bill explicitly states that relevant tokens determined to be decentralized and functional are considered digital commodities and not subject to SEC regulation, and meet the degree of centralization requirements, they can be exempted for a period. This will encourage DeFi projects to evolve towards a more decentralized direction. Furthermore, 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 the changes in U.S. regulation that DeFi has become an important narrative in this round of the bull market.
What projects are Trump and his cabinet members buying, and which projects are they supporting? This indicates what direction the future development of cryptocurrencies may take.
Trump:
His business landscape's involvement in 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 of the World Liberty Financial project.
Trump's two eldest 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.
The white paper of the project states that Trump will occasionally promote the project. In return, Trump's company will receive 75% of the revenue from the project.
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 stage, having sold 1/4 of its tokens, and has raised $75 million.
WLFI has also been continuously purchasing tokens from other projects. The purchase situation in the past period is as follows:
ETH: Spent a total of $30 million 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 DeFi-related projects, which also highlights the ambition of the WLIF project, which aims to build an on-chain lending platform and include an on-chain trading platform. The tokens it has purchased include stablecoins, collateralized lending, RWA, oracles, and wrapped Bitcoin projects, basically covering all aspects of on-chain DeFi.
With the gradual clarification of U.S. regulations after Trump takes office, DeFi is likely to usher in a phase of vigorous development.
2. Other business layouts in the cryptocurrency field
Companies under the Trump family are also actively laying out cryptocurrency businesses. The Trump family owns the cryptocurrency exchange 'World Liberty Financial', and its social platform 'Truth' has submitted an application to create a cryptocurrency payment service called 'truthfi', and plans to acquire the cryptocurrency service company Bakkt. These business layouts are closely related to virtual currencies.
Trump's cryptocurrency holdings:
According to the holdings of Trump's wallet, the token with the largest holding is TROG, which is a Meme Coin. ETH ranks second in his investment portfolio, with over 495 ETH worth $1.99 million. Additionally, he holds over 478 WETH worth $1.93 million.
Some of the Meme Coins in his wallet, such as Trump, are basically obtained through airdrops, while Ethereum is from donations accepted during his presidential campaign and commissions earned from selling related NFTs, including some shares from WLFI sales.
Trump's wallet also includes mainstream tokens like Matic, although the source is uncertain.
In terms of politics, Trump wants to build the U.S. into a crypto-friendly country, starting with using Bitcoin as a national reserve, followed by establishing a series of policies and regulations that help develop the cryptocurrency industry.
The cabinet members of Trump are also basically crypto-friendly individuals or hold cryptocurrencies themselves.
The cryptocurrency holdings of the Trump administration's cabinet members
Trump's cabinet members include 15 cabinet ministers and some cabinet-level officials, totaling about 20 people.
Among these 20 individuals, at least six are crypto-friendly, with several publicly stating their cryptocurrency holdings. 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 Technology Advisory Council.
He has a very positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies, and his venture capital firm Craft Ventures has made numerous investments in the cryptocurrency field, covering infrastructure, CeFi, DeFi, NFT, and other areas, including projects like dydx and Lightning Labs.
Sacks' position as the head of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency affairs at the White House will help lead to the realization of Trump's campaign promise to relax regulations on the cryptocurrency industry. He will act as a 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 related policies to strive for a more favorable policy space for the cryptocurrency industry.
Currently, according to public information, he holds at least Bitcoin and Solana.
Bitcoin: In 2012, David Sacks began investing in Bitcoin and adopted a 'set it and forget it' long-term holding strategy. He views Bitcoin as a tool to hedge against inflation of fiat currencies and censorship.
Solana: In October 2021, David Sacks revealed in a podcast that he holds a large amount of Solana. Even after the FTX collapse in 2022 caused turmoil in the cryptocurrency market, he did not sell his Solana holdings and firmly believes in its potential to surpass Ethereum in the future.
Robert F. Kennedy
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 and has proposed a series of policy suggestions, such as exempting capital gains tax when converting Bitcoin to dollars and backing the dollar with hard assets like Bitcoin. 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, preventing corruption and misuse of funds.
It has been disclosed that Robert F. Kennedy's family trust holds Bitcoin worth 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 his support for cryptocurrencies through actual investment.
Howard Lutnick
Nominated by Trump as the Secretary of Commerce of the United States, if the nomination is confirmed, he will also directly oversee the work of the U.S. Trade Representative's office.
He believes that Bitcoin has decentralized value and is the only asset that cannot be taken away by anyone. He also advocates that Bitcoin should be treated as a commodity, similar to gold and oil.
Lutnick is a staunch supporter of the stablecoin Tether, whose company Cantor Fitzgerald not only holds undisclosed shares in Tether but also manages Tether's large 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 that this bill will protect investors, promote innovation, and bring more diverse 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 currency at the Bitcoin 2023 conference. She believes that central bank digital currencies will record transaction information, increase monitoring risks for ordinary Americans, and thus threaten the freedom and economic autonomy of the public.
She emphasized that Bitcoin, as a decentralized cryptocurrency, has characteristics that cannot be manipulated by third parties, capable of preserving the privacy and freedom of cash transactions in the digital world. Therefore, she believes that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have positive significance for social development.
According to public documents from December 2017, he holds Ethereum and LTC worth between $1,000 and $15,000, but it is unclear whether 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 landscape into the cryptocurrency field. From selling NFTs in the early years to currently engaging in DeFi projects and acquiring exchanges, Trump's involvement in the cryptocurrency industry is becoming increasingly profound.
Not only deeply involved in the cryptocurrency industry in the commercial sector, but after becoming president, the U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve is highly likely to come true. Coupled with his promotion of cryptocurrency legislation, relaxing regulatory intensity, and establishing dedicated agencies and positions for cryptocurrencies, it can be seen that this will better coordinate the relationship between the government and the cryptocurrency industry, allowing the cryptocurrency industry to have laws to rely on and operate in a relatively lenient environment.
The cabinet members chosen by Trump are basically representatives of crypto-friendly individuals. Although the SEC chairman Paul Atkins, whom he selected, does not have public information showing his holdings in virtual currency assets, he is indeed a staunch supporter of cryptocurrencies. It is expected that after taking office, he will review multiple rules and judicial enforcement actions under Gensler, adopt a more lenient attitude towards cryptocurrencies, and seek rule changes aimed at promoting capital formation to create a more favorable regulatory environment for the crypto industry.
Some cabinet members, although their nominated positions are not related to economics, have also clearly expressed their support for cryptocurrencies. As policymakers, only those who genuinely hold virtual currencies will formulate truly crypto-friendly policies.
Currently, based on the holdings of Trump and some cabinet members and the expansion of their cryptocurrency landscape, it can be seen that the U.S. is likely to make significant investments in the DeFi sector.
