Analysis of 8 issues shaking the crypto world of Donald Trump

Bitcoin surges to new all-time high, breaking through $81,000 (price as of November 11, 2024). The issue that is being closely watched is the policy regarding Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, which Trump has promised to make America the crypto capital of the world.

Following Donald Trump's election victory and his appointment as the 47th President-elect of the United States, the price of Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high, surpassing $81,000 (price as of November 11, 2024). A key focus was Trump's policies regarding Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, including his promise to make America the cryptocurrency capital. Other policies included supporting the right of all Americans to manage their digital assets and conduct transactions without government oversight and control, along with his opposition to CBDCs, which he argued would compromise financial privacy.

Data from Coinmarketcap.com

Not only that, Trump also has the idea of ​​using Bitcoin seized by the US government as the country's reserve fund, and he will immediately fire Gary Gensler, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as soon as he takes office, citing Gensler's negative attitude towards crypto.

The Trump family's World Liberty Financial platform

Furthermore, the Trump family launched a DeFi platform called World Liberty Financial, with their three sons, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. , and Barron Trump, serving as Web3 Ambassadors. Donald Trump holds the position of Chief Crypto Advocate, and they are joined by several blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin experts. This clearly reinforces Trump's intention to befriend the cryptocurrency industry upon his return to the White House.

To gain insight into the trends in the crypto industry following the US presidential election, Banking and Finance has compiled expert perspectives on the policies and promises Donald Trump campaigned on, categorized into eight key areas:

1. Make America the center of the crypto world and make the regulation more friendly to crypto business to encourage innovation in the country and clearly show that we want to be the leader and not be inferior to any country.

Mr. Nirun Fuwattananukul

Mr. Nirun Fuwattananukul, CEO of Binance TH by Gulf Binance, commented on this issue, stating that Binance TH views this as a positive sign for the growth of the cryptocurrency industry. During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to implement policy changes in the United States that would benefit Bitcoin and digital assets. This promise has now been proven true, with Bitcoin's market value reaching an all-time high (ATH) after Trump secured the presidency.

This policy is very likely to be seen from Trump's policy in becoming president for the second time, which has a different stance from the first time, where the Republicans received a majority in the Senate and are likely to include the House of Representatives. In addition, Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who supported Trump's campaign, are both very supportive of Bitcoin. Therefore, BINANCE TH thinks that this policy is likely to happen.

“If this happens, it would be a huge boon for the crypto industry. We could see the US continue to grow the industry again after many US companies moved overseas in recent years, driven by investment in digital assets and increased regulatory support.”

BINANCE TH believes that the crypto industry will grow significantly from now on. In addition, Trump's announcement to support crypto may also have an indirect impact. Other major powers are likely to follow suit to create international competition. It may take a long time to implement crypto policies, but it reflects the industry's international acceptance.

However, we must continue to watch the urgent problems that Americans expect Trump to solve, such as economic problems, the immigration crisis in the United States, etc., which may be the first problem that Trump will come in to solve first. Therefore, we must keep an eye on his involvement in managing Bitcoin policy again.

Ultimately, addressing cryptocurrencies is extremely complex, and drafting legislation can take some time. In one important example, the US House of Representatives has already passed the FIT21 bill, which is now awaiting consideration by the Senate. If Trump wants to draft an entirely new bill, he will need to extend the deadline.

2. Oppose central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) because they want to protect Americans’ privacy when spending.

Mr. Sanchai Popli

Sanchai Popli, co-founder and CEO of CryptoMind Group Holdings Co., Ltd., offered his perspective on this issue, stating that America places great importance on civil liberties. The issuance and enforcement of CBDCs is, in one aspect, a violation of the civil liberties of American citizens. There are those who accept it and those who do not. Those who do not accept it argue that CBDCs infringe on privacy because the central bank knows every transaction, regardless of location, time, or amount, whereas cash offers greater privacy.

And since CBDCs are digital and controlled by a central bank, it is possible that freedom of money can be more easily restricted or political dissent can be used. Trump’s lack of support for CBDCs has resonated with crypto enthusiasts, especially Bitcoin enthusiasts, because it shows an understanding of why CBDCs are privacy violations and risk infringing on people’s civil liberties, which Bitcoiners don’t like.

And with Bitcoin's properties, it is also money that is not at risk of such problems because there is no intermediary that can control anyone's money at any time like a central bank that controls CBDC. It also has a stable, predictable monetary policy. It is private because transferring money between two people via Bitcoin will be known by only two people. With privacy comparable to cash today, Bitcoin is called peer to peer electronic "cash".

“Donald Trump’s lack of support for CBDCs has no negative impact on the crypto industry. On the contrary, it seems to be a positive because it makes Trump look like someone who understands crypto and really wants to push the policies he has talked about. This may be part of why Trump won over 10% of the crypto population and won a landslide victory in this election.”

3. Ease restrictions and regulations to encourage Bitcoin mining in the US.

Mr. Piriya Sampantharak

Mr. Piriya Sampantharak, founder of Rightshift Co., Ltd. and managing director of Chalok.com Co., Ltd., commented that Donald Trump's use of this issue in his campaign is in the context of the Biden administration's harsh attacks on the digital asset industry, particularly Bitcoin and USDT, and its attempts to restrict people from holding digital assets. Even though these laws haven't passed Congress, they demonstrate an effort to control, monitor, and prevent people from easily accessing the digital asset market.

During Donald Trump's speech at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville, the main point was that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris wanted to make it impractical to personally hold digital assets, suggesting instead that digital assets be entrusted to licensed custodians. They argued that these self-created wallets are unregistered and therefore untraceable. Trump's campaign message that day was a declaration that "he would protect the right of Americans to own and store their digital assets themselves."

There is also the matter of setting up the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, where the US announced that it would not sell all of its Bitcoin and would collect more until it reached 1 million BTC by 2028. There is a draft law by US Senator Cynthia Lummis, which is likely to pass under the Donald Trump administration.

On the issue of supporting the Bitcoin mining business in the United States, Mr. Piriya commented that currently, most Bitcoin miners are already in the United States. After China announced a ban on crypto mining in 2021-2022, most miners had to relocate to several countries, many of whom are now located in America, such as Texas, which has policies that support the crypto mining business. Donald Trump himself saw this and announced that he would protect the right to mine Bitcoin, which is contrary to the Joe Biden administration, which believes that if electricity is used to mine Bitcoin, an additional electricity tax will be collected at a special rate, which many parties see as unfair.

“If you believe that Bitcoin or the crypto business will come, the question is, why won’t America be the leader? I think this is the idea of ​​people who promote the America First policy. If the world is going to turn in any direction, America must be the leader. I think this policy is straightforward.”

As for making Bitcoin made in USA, in fact, Bitcoin was not created by any country. Although there are efforts of some Bitcoin miners in America to put information in the mined blocks that the block was made in USA, but it is just a small gimmick. It does not mean that all Bitcoin will be produced in America and does not affect the price.

It is possible to consolidate a large number of miners in one place if the environment is conducive. The reason why China previously had a large number of Bitcoin mines was because the electricity cost was low. But that was due to subsidies from the Chinese government, which eventually led to Bitcoin mining being banned because the electricity cost did not come from real market mechanisms.

For America to have a lot of Bitcoin miners in the country, what needs to be done is that the law must be conducive to Bitcoin mining, including taxes, stable business rights, and reliable electricity prices and energy sources.

At the same time, when Bitcoin mining capacity increases in America, the demand for electricity will increase, which will push up electricity prices. Therefore, if we evaluate it according to economic mechanisms, it is unlikely that all or most of the mining capacity will be concentrated in one place because each person must try to find an area that allows them to compete in the free market. In reality, there are many countries with cheaper electricity rates than America and more energy to use, such as Iran, which currently has about 4-5% of the world's Bitcoin mining capacity.

Or if Bitcoin miners really do gather and set up in America, it is not seen that it will have any impact on the Bitcoin network because the mines that will be opened in America are private companies, including many people who participate in the Bitcoin network. Although the government can use some laws to pressure these operators, such as censoring transactions sent to countries that are sanctioned by America, doing so cannot change the system. It is just that some transactions are slower than usual because in the end there are still many miners outside of America who are ready to confirm those transactions.

4. Establish a Presidential Advisory Council on Crypto to ensure proper regulation and sustainable growth of the industry.

Mr. Nares Laophanrai

Mr. Nares Laopannarai, President of the Thai Digital Asset Association, commented on this matter, stating that currently, the United States is the only major economy that does not yet have direct legislation regarding digital assets, yet it has the highest amount of investment in this market. Therefore, the establishment of a digital asset advisory council would further increase confidence among American citizens to invest more.

It is also expected that Trump will fire the current SEC Chairman or resign himself, even though there is still a year left in his term, because he is a Democrat. The current chairman has a negative attitude towards cryptocurrencies, which will make the investment atmosphere in the crypto market even more lively. In addition, the Republican Party's control of the upper and lower houses of Congress makes it even easier to pass laws.

“In addition to liberalizing Bitcoin mining and keeping Bitcoin as reserves, it is expected that Altcoin ETFs will follow because there are fund management companies that are trying to apply to set up ETFs like Solana and are interested in setting up ETFs for other coins. However, institutional investors’ confidence in clear regulations will push the value of the crypto market to grow at least twofold from the current $2 trillion to $4-5 trillion within his tenure.”

5. Remove SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and replace him with someone who is positive about the crypto industry and discourages the participation of some opposing groups in driving the industry forward.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Udomsak Rakwongwan

Associate Professor Dr. Udomsak Rakwongwan, PhD in Financial Mathematics, co-founder and advisor of Forward – Decentralized Derivatives Platform and Forward Labs – Blockchain technology labs, and a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Kasetsart University, commented on this matter, stating that Trump clearly expressed his position at the Bitcoin Conference 2024 by announcing his support for digital assets and promising to dismiss Gary Gensler, the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on his first day in office if re-elected president. This is due to Gensler's strict policies towards the crypto industry, such as prosecuting Uniswap Labs, Ripple, and other crypto companies for issuing unauthorized securities.

Traditionally, the SEC chair has resigned when there is a new president, allowing for a replacement for someone more in line with new policies. For example, Jay Clayton, who was appointed by Trump, resigned before Joe Biden took office, and Mary Jo White, who was appointed by Obama, resigned before Trump took office, making it more likely that Gensler will consider resigning before Trump takes office.

For the new SEC chair, a positive policy towards cryptocurrencies is certainly in place. Notable candidates include Mark Uyede, who has consistently opposed the SEC's stringent crypto regulations, and Hester Peirce , the SEC commissioner nicknamed "Crypto Mom," as well as others who support cryptocurrencies or have experience in the digital asset business.

“In the future, we should see clearer and more digital asset-friendly policies that will attract financial institutions and large companies to the industry. As policymakers change, we should also see changes in the operators, who will reduce the number of lawsuits against crypto-related operators.”

6. Support the United States to hold Bitcoin for the long term, with a proposal to increase Bitcoin to 1 million BTC as a strategic reserve asset (Bitcoin Strategic Reserve)

Associate Professor Dr. Udomsak commented that Trump's presidency has had a very positive impact on the overall cryptocurrency market. It's clear that throughout Trump's term, there will be no ban on Bitcoin, and there "might" be an increase in Bitcoin holdings as a strategic reserve asset for the country.

“We are likely to see more large companies enter the stock market, with policymakers accepting and pressure from big players who have already entered the crypto space. A clear example is Microsoft’s proposal to hold Bitcoin as a corporate asset. Although the board of directors disagreed, major shareholders such as BlackRock supported the idea, even threatening to sue if the company continued to refuse to hold Bitcoin, losing out on financial opportunities when the price rose.”

BlackRock owns shares in almost every major company. If it can successfully push Microsoft to become the first company to hold Bitcoin, it is expected to have a domino effect, leading to similar decisions from many other companies.

7. Encourage all Americans to have the right to take custody of their own digital assets.

Mr. Suphakrit Bunsat

Mr. Supakrit Boonsart, founder of Thai Bitcast Co., Ltd., commented that the announcement by the most recent US president regarding personal ownership of digital assets has significant implications, both in terms of benefits and precautions. In terms of benefits, personal ownership offers financial freedom, privacy in transactions, and full control over assets. It also reduces reliance on exchanges, which may face systemic risks, as evidenced by news of exchanges shutting down due to operational errors.

However, there are issues that need to be given importance to storing digital assets because all risks must be managed by the asset owner themselves, especially the risk of loss and theft of digital assets, the lack of an adequate backup and recovery system, and most importantly, obstacles for new users who may not yet understand how to store private keys.

8. Creation of DeFi World platform Liberty Financial, the Trump family's new business

Mr. Chanon Charoensutthikun

Chanon Charasuthikul, co-founder and CEO of FWX, a decentralized derivatives trading platform, and Forward Labs, a blockchain fintech startup, commented that Bitcoin's record-breaking surge is a result of the increased interest in crypto investors following President Donald Trump's return to a prominent role in the economic and technology sectors. Trump stated at the Bitcoin Conference that the US should widely adopt blockchain and cryptocurrencies to prevent China from dominating this market, and outlined plans to make America the global crypto hub.

After the heated presidential election, prices of DeFi coins such as Lido, Uniswap, EigenLayer, and Aave have surged by 20-30%. One of the main drivers is a new DeFi project called World Liberty Financial, founded by three of Trump’s sons and backed by the president-elect, and investors see this as a golden opportunity for the DeFi industry.

As a result, the prices of DeFi coins such as Lido, Uniswap, EigenLayer, Aave have increased by 20%-30% since the election.

World Liberty Financial Management Team

However, the World Liberty Financial project is still facing fundraising challenges. It aims to raise $300 million, allocating 63% of the total WLFI tokens for sale, but has so far raised only about 5% of the target. The funding plan states that 75% of the funds raised will go to the accounts of Trump's children, with 17% of the tokens allocated to users, and 20% to the development and operations team. The World Liberty Financial platform is expected to launch on the Ethereum and Scroll networks.

In terms of platform structure, World Liberty Financial focuses on providing lending services on the Ethereum blockchain network and is regulated by the SEC. The project was inspired by Dough Finance, which suffered a hack in July this year. Dough Finance was hit by a flash loan attack and lost over $2 million on the platform.

“The WLFI project is currently in the token sale phase and has raised less than 10% of its target. However, the strong support from the new US president-elect and Donald Trump’s commitment to promoting both Bitcoin and DeFi have given investors confidence, marking an important starting point for the DeFi industry.”

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