Trump's team is considering a new White House role focused on crypto policy: Bloomberg
Quick Take
- The Trump team is screening candidates to serve in that role, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
- President-elect Trump strongly embraced crypto during election season this past year.
President-elect Donald Trump's team is considering creating a position specifically focused on crypto policy, marking a first in the White House, according to Bloomberg.
The Trump team is screening candidates to serve in that role, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter. A representative from the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block.
It is not clear whether the position would be more similar to a senior staff position at the White House or as a "crypto czar," Bloomberg reported.
Trump embraced crypto during election season this past year as he promised to fire U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, pledged to commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht's life sentence, create a Crypto Presidential Advisory Council and create a national strategic bitcoin reserve.
Following the election, Trump has nominated crypto-friendly executives to top posts including Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce and bitcoin-friendly Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Executives in the crypto industry have been reaching out to the Trump team recently. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said he has spoken with people close to Trump about personnel appointments and executives at Circle have also spoken with Trump's transition team, according to The New York Times, citing people familiar with those conversations.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong spoke on the phone with Trump about crypto generally and about who will be tapped to lead the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to Fortune, citing people familiar with the call.
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