Crypto industry lobbies Trump, allies to capitalise on US election wins

By David Yaffe-Bellany, Theodore Schleifer & Erin Griffith 

A cryptocurrency enthusiast as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. A presidential committee stacked with industry loyalists. And legislation to let crypto companies operate freely in the United States.

 

After years in the political wilderness, crypto executives are scrambling to execute a policy wish list that could fundamentally transform the industry’s standing in the United States. They are intensively lobbying President-elect Donald Trump and his allies, seeking to shape decisions about key personnel in the new administration and end a regulatory crackdown on crypto companies.

 

Many top executives are courting Howard Lutnick, a Bitcoin enthusiast who heads the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald and is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, according to more than a dozen crypto executives, some of whom requested anonymity to discuss sensitive political maneuvering.

 

Coinbase, the crypto exchange, has been coordinating with Trump’s transition team to arrange a conversation between Lutnick and Brian Armstrong, the firm’s CEO, two people with knowledge of the discussions said. Brad Garlinghouse, the chief executive of Ripple, another crypto firm, said he had spoken with people close to Trump about personnel decisions for the new administration. Executives at Circle, a large US crypto firm, have also communicated with the transition team, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

 

The industry’s top priority is reshaping the S.E.C., which has aggressively pursued crypto firms in court. Among the candidates to run the agency is Dan Gallagher, the chief legal officer for Robinhood, the finance and crypto app, three people with knowledge of the matter said. Another candidate backed by the industry is Chris Giancarlo, a former regulator who has served as an adviser to crypto companies, one of the people said.

 

After every election, corporate leaders put on a full-court press to influence the transition. But the crypto world has particular reason for optimism. During the campaign, Trump, once an outspoken Bitcoin skeptic, said he had been converted into a believer and promised to end the S.E.C.’s legal crackdown. He and his family also started their own crypto business and stand to benefit personally from regulatory changes that industry executives have recommended. The result is likely to be a drastic shift in US policy toward the crypto industry, which has been tarnished by financial scandals, corporate bankruptcies and white-collar frauds that cost consumers billions of dollars in lost savings. Before the election, a set of super PACs financed by crypto executives spent about $135 million to influence more than 50 congressional races, helping elect dozens of pro-crypto candidates.