After a four-year absence, Donald Trump, who is about to return to the White House, has promised to be a president who supports cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin since his campaign, embracing digital assets throughout his presidential campaign and expressing his desire to make the United States the "capital of cryptocurrency" and a "superpower of bitcoin." What's more significant is that the new U.S. government set to officially take office in January is likely to continue favoring digital assets beyond this head coach, implying that the future U.S. federal government may extend long-term support to the development trends of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

According to some federal documents and recent public statements, selected Vice President JD Vance and some federal government department candidates nominated by Trump have been revealed to have contact with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin through ownership of assets or related business interests. Therefore, some Wall Street analysts recently jokingly mentioned in a report that "cryptocurrency investors" are also an important force entering the Trump cabinet.

These federal government department candidates who support cryptocurrencies and have been nominated by Trump include Robert Kennedy, Howard Lutnick, Pete Hegseth, and Turki al-Gabadi - Trump has nominated them for the positions of Minister of Health and Human Services, Commerce Secretary, Defense Secretary, and National Intelligence Director respectively, making an "all cryptocurrency-supporting" cabinet.

If the above-mentioned nominees successfully become leaders of these key federal departments, it would be an unprecedented major event in U.S. politics - the collective establishment of exposure to cryptocurrencies by the U.S. President's Cabinet for this emerging asset.

Even President Trump himself has admitted in some disclosed documents that he is a fan and investor of digital assets. According to the disclosure of the Federal Election Commission in August, he personally holds the world's second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin - Ethereum (ETH-USD), which is valued at as high as 1 million to 5 million USD. If we add the leader of the U.S. 'Department of Efficiency' nominated by Trump, Musk - the world's richest man and Tesla CEO known as 'Father of the Coin Circle' by cryptocurrency fans, this lineup can be described as the 'galactic battleship' in the cryptocurrency field.

Trump and his sons are also avid supporters of World Liberty Financial, a popular cryptocurrency project they vigorously promote on social media.

As part of a promotional exchange, limited liability companies owned by the Trump family will receive 22.5% of the cryptocurrency (WLFI-USD) under this project, as well as 75% of any net income after World Liberty receives 30 million USD.

According to US federal law, even if there is a potential conflict of interest, the President and Vice President do not need to divest any cryptocurrency assets after taking office, although a law passed in 1977 does require them to submit an annual disclosure listing their income, assets, and debt levels.

In August, Vice President-elect Vance revealed that he held between $0.25 million and $0.5 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC-USD); it is currently unclear whether he still holds these assets.

However, for some key cabinet nominees of the Trump administration, things may become more complicated.

If these digital assets pose a potential conflict of interest with their managerial responsibilities, they will have to divest these assets. A letter from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) in 2022 clearly stated that this requirement also applies to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

The Trump cabinet is largely made up of cryptocurrency enthusiasts! They are even considering establishing a 'crypto czar.'

"Of course, there are many core members in this government who are very interested in cryptocurrencies when they join the government." Ian Katz, Managing Director of Capital Alpha Partners, said in a media interview. "They supported cryptocurrencies during the Trump campaign and of course hope that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin perform well and prosper, even if they have to sell off their cryptocurrency assets."

Long-time anti-vaccine activist Little Kennedy is also a cryptocurrency enthusiast, revealing in June 2023 that he holds between $0.1 million and $0.25 million worth of Bitcoin assets.

In July last year, while attending a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, he openly stated: "I have invested a lot of personal wealth into it, not just for profit, but because it aligns very well with my values."

Another Trump nominee, Luttig, who was nominated as Secretary of Commerce, has already stated that he will divest his holdings in Cantor Fitzgerald, a top Wall Street asset management institution where he serves as CEO.

It is understood that Cantor Fitzgerald plays a crucial asset management role in supporting the U.S. Treasury system of its stablecoin (USDT-USD), being the largest-scale stablecoin issuer Tether globally.

Media reports last week indicated that the relationship between Cantor and this stablecoin issuer is even closer. Earlier this year, the two companies reached an agreement where Cantor acquired a 5% ownership stake in Tether.

Following a meeting with Luttig in May, Tether's co-founder and CFO Giancarlo Devasini reportedly informed colleagues that Luttig himself would seek to prevent any legislation that could harm Tether.

According to a statement, Luttig mentioned that if his position is ultimately confirmed, he would sell his holdings in Cantor Fitzgerald and its affiliate companies to comply with U.S. government ethical standards.

Another core cabinet member, Pete Heggseth, the U.S. Secretary of Defense nominee appointed by Trump, is also a federal government candidate who publicly acknowledges holding bitcoin.

The day after Trump's election win, this 44-year-old Fox News political commentator and former Army National Guard officer admitted in a live television interview that he sold off 'some very high-priced stuff.' 'But I still hold a pile of assets, so I feel good,' Heggseth added.

It is currently unclear whether he still holds bitcoin, and if verified, it is uncertain whether he would be involved in decisions relating to cryptocurrency policies.

It is currently unclear whether Trump's choice to lead the US intelligence agency, Habib, will be involved in formulating cryptocurrency policies.

According to a public document, when she served as a Congresswoman in Hawaii's Second District, she revealed that as of December 2017, she held Ethereum and litecoin (LTC-USD) worth $1,000 to $15,000. It is currently unclear if she still holds any cryptocurrency assets. She disclosed herself as a crypto fan at the 2023 Miami Bitcoin conference.

Even more significant, the media revealed that Trump's core team plans to establish a senior position in the White House specifically dedicated to cryptocurrency policy for the first time. According to US political jargon, the person in this position will be known as the "Cryptocurrency Tsar", overseeing the highest level of policy and industry regulation related to the federal government.

From the latest news, Trump's leadership of the US federal government may plan to elevate the cryptocurrency industry to an unprecedented level. If the news of Trump intending to appoint a "Cryptocurrency Tsar" is true, it will be the first specialized position dedicated to cryptocurrency in the White House's history, highlighting the new US government's emphasis on the development of the emerging cryptocurrency industry.

Additionally, outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler has been critical of cryptocurrencies, while Trump may appoint financial industry professionals who support cryptocurrencies to replace Gensler at the SEC, paving the way for the issuance of other cryptocurrency ETFs.

'Can the wild bitcoin continue to surge?'

Recently, stablecoin values ​​have surged rapidly following the soaring prices of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, mainly due to Trump's election as President of the United States and his imminent return to the White House after four years. This has led cryptocurrency enthusiasts to collectively bet on the more friendly and lenient regulatory expectations revealed by the new Trump-led US government, which may bring new prosperity to various sectors of this asset class.

According to CoinGecko's statistics, since the US election, the total value of the cryptocurrency market has grown by nearly $1 trillion, surpassing the $3.2 trillion mark. In the global stock rankings, it is second only to Apple and Nvidia, meaning that if the cryptocurrency market were treated as a single stock, its market cap would rank just below Nvidia and Apple, far ahead of Amazon, Google, Meta, Tesla, and the premium listed companies like Saudi Aramco.

The leader of the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin, approached the epic level of 0.1 million usd last week, but later retraced slightly. Currently, the trading price of Bitcoin is hovering around $97,500.

The total market value of Bitcoin is currently hovering around 1.8 trillion usd, historically the largest cryptocurrency. Recently, Wall Street investment firm Ned Davis Research upgraded Bitcoin to a 'long-only trade,' and believes that Bitcoin could surge to over 0.12 million usd by next spring.

Standard Chartered Bank's global head of digital asset research, Geoff Kendrick, believes that after Trump wins the U.S. presidential election, the price of Bitcoin will reach 0.125 million usd by the end of this year, and will reach 0.2 million usd by the end of 2025. Top American venture capitalist Tim Draper has been bullish on the price trend of Bitcoin since 2014. In a recent interview, he stated that he expects the price of Bitcoin to reach around 0.12 million usd by the end of this year, and could reach 0.25 million usd by 2025.

Market participants indicate that cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (such as the Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. stock market) are being heavily purchased by investors, which may suggest that Wall Street financial institutions are buying in large quantities. Financial institutions typically prefer to avoid directly holding highly volatile risk assets such as cryptocurrencies. According to institutional statistics, 12 U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock and Fidelity, attracted a net inflow of 6.2 billion usd in November, setting a new record high, surpassing the $6 billion record set in February.

Editor/ping