By Admin 
The 2024 presidential election marked a pivotal moment for the cryptocurrency industry, with both candidates reaching out to crypto supporters. But while Kamala Harris and Donald Trump embraced crypto to some extent, Trump’s support was far more vocal and extreme. He has called for the U.S. to become “the crypto capital of the planet,” a dramatic reversal from his first term, when he dismissed cryptocurrency as a “scam.” Now that Trump has been reelected, crypto supporters and industry leaders are optimistic about a favorable regulatory environment.
Neil Bergquist, CEO of crypto exchange Coinme, is hopeful that bipartisan support and changing regulatory attitudes could reshape the industry in the coming years.
“I’ve been a crypto entrepreneur for 10 years and this is the first time crypto regulation is a priority at the federal level.” ,” says Bergquist. “But now people are understanding it and embracing it as a shift, whereas before it was like, ‘I don’t understand it, that just sounds like something that criminals would use.’”
All-Time Highs and Regulatory Outlook
Call it the Trump effect: Crypto markets saw a huge surge following the election. On Nov. 12, bitcoin surged toward a historic high of $90,000 — with trading volumes of BlackRock’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund reaching unprecedented levels of $4.1 billion in a single day, proof positive of the impact of this political leader’s sentiment on digital assets.
“The first bitcoin ETF was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission and received some of the largest capital inflows of any ETF ever created. That was a big turning-of-the-tide moment,” Bergquist says. “Everyone had talked about institutional adoption. Well, here it is.”
Despite obvious institutional momentum leading up to the election, many businesses had remained hesitant to integrate crypto capabilities into their operations. Bergquist attributes this caution primarily to regulatory uncertainty, particularly among larger corporations. “When you deal with companies worth more than a billion dollars and already have a good thing going, they’re less likely to take a potentially unnecessary risk,” he says. “They want to see more clarity around how it might be regulated.”
Now many industry insiders expect this hesitancy to yield and more regulatory clarity to emerge, as the president-elect’s transition team is already exploring crypto-friendly candidates for key financial regulatory posts. This includes the SEC, where Trump has nominated former SEC Commissioner and cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to replace Chairman Gary Gensler, who has taken an aggressive enforcement stance against crypto.
“The commission’s war on crypto must end, including crypto enforcement actions solely based on a failure to register with no allegation of fraud or harm,” Uyeda told Fox Business recently. “President Trump and the American electorate have sent a clear message. Starting in 2025, the SEC’s role is to carry out that mandate.”
Trump’s conversion has been particularly stark. His campaign reportedly raised roughly $4 million in various cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Key crypto industry figures, including vocal billionaire supporters Elon Musk and Howard Lutnick, Kraken CEO Marco Santori, and BTC CEO David Bailey joined Trump at his election night party in Florida and donated to his election campaign.
The incoming administration is considering establishing a presidential council on digital currencies and placing a top crypto aide at the National Economic Council. They’re also exploring early executive orders that might help clarify regulatory authorities between federal agencies.
“President Trump has the House and Senate. He has a mandate,” Bailey posted on X. “The environment is there for us to get this done in the first 100 days.”
Paving the Way for Increased Mainstream Adoption
This new regulatory environment could pave the way for increased mainstream adoption and practical use cases for crypto, a cause that Bergquist and Coinme, which specializes in bitcoin ATMs, have been championing for years.
“We see three main use cases, three main user personas,” Bergquist says of his company’s user base.
One of these personas is individuals who use Coinme’s bitcoin ATMs to send remittances to other countries, saving on fees that often accompany traditional money wires.
“If you want to transfer money from your U.S. bank account to an international bank account, it’s usually a $35 international bank wire. You could send crypto on-chain for pennies to nearly any wallet in the world, says Bergquist. “So there’s transfer costs that you’re saving.”
The second group consists of tech-savvy users leveraging crypto for payments, gaming applications, or merchant transactions. These users are drawn to crypto’s ability to reduce transaction costs compared to traditional payment networks.
“Crypto has a lot of benefits to be used for payments because there’s no chargeback risk, there’s no Visa or Mastercard processing fees,” he says. “The merchant’s not having to pay 2% to 3% to Visa or MasterCard. A merchant can accept crypto and they’re charged 1% or less because there’s no chargeback risk. It’s actually faster and cheaper as a payment rail, especially because it’s digitally native.”
The third category comprises investors viewing crypto, particularly bitcoin, as a long-term store of value similar to gold. This use case has gained particular relevance amid recent inflation concerns.
“When in periods of inflation, real assets generally go up in value,” Bergquist says. “Bitcoin has proven to be a tangible asset.”