Trump may nominate a Treasury Secretary who doesn’t support cryptocurrencies. What does that mean?
Donald Trump may not turn out to be as friendly towards digital assets as it seemed during the last months before the election. The first “alarm bell” in this context manifested itself in the personnel policy of the newly elected president. In general, Trump’s inauguration will take place on 20 January 2025, and until that date he still formally has no legal powers. However, the Republican is traditionally spending this time to select a new team in the White House.
One of the most important positions in it is the Treasury Secretary's chair. Earlier it was assumed that it would go to either Scott Bessent or Howard Lutnick, the head of Cantor Fitzgerald.
Both of these candidates are characterised by a positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies. For example, Lute said in late September that digital assets such as Bitcoin should be classified as commodities, similar to oil or gold. Accordingly, he spoke out against the SEC’s Gary Gensler-led approach, which regularly causes problems for cryptocurrencies by labelling them as unregistered securities.
Cantor Fitzgerald executive Howard Lutnick is the head of the firm
Right now, however, Lutek’s appointment seems unlikely. According to sources, Trump may appoint another person to the position who is not so close to crypto.
How the new US Treasury Secretary will be
Information about personnel reshuffles was published by journalists of the New York Times. They are sure that a discord has arisen in the Trump team.
Lutnick, who also heads Trump’s transition team, allegedly actively lobbied for the appointment of himself to the post of Minister and opposed the work of Bessent in this position.
Former Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh
The story irritates Trump to the point where he is now not even considering both nominees for the Secretary of State position at all. Well, this dramatic situation could have significant implications for the crypto market.
Both Bessent and Lutnick could run the Treasury Department in a manner favourable to the digital asset industry. Still, Bessent has previously expressed a willingness to create a federal strategic reserve in BTC, while Lutek is one of Bitcoin’s top supporters among politicians.
In addition, his company Cantor Fitzgerald holds billions of dollars worth of assets for a USDT issuer called Tether, Decrypt reported. Accordingly, the giant plays an important role in what’s happening inside the digital asset sphere.
Apollo Global Management CEO Mark Rowan
Both candidates are in a position to introduce a number of reforms to reverse the decisions of the previous administration. This would help bring about a more lenient attitude of regulators towards cryptocurrencies, as well as make digital assets legitimate in the eyes of large investors who previously did not interact with coins due to regulatory risks.
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However, according to Times reporters, due to his frustration, Trump is considering two new candidates for the position. Moreover, neither of them is as favourable to the crypto.
The two alternative candidates are former Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh and Apollo Global Management CEO Mark Rowan. Both have mixed views on the crypto industry.
In particular, Warsh has long advocated the creation of a US central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is an electronic form of national currency. It is issued and regulated by the central bank and is designed to perform the same functions as cash, including settlement transactions and store of value.
CBDC differs from cryptocurrencies in that it is fully controlled by the state, has the official status of legal tender and can be used in both retail and interbank settlements. At the same time, experts assume that the authorities are able to use this currency to control citizens’ spending and behaviour, while Trump has previously promised not to allow CBDC to appear if he wins the election.
Former US President Donald Trump
Trump is allegedly intrigued by Warsh – particularly because he considers the banker a “smart businessman”. Second candidate Mark Rowan is wary of the prospect of digital assets. While he has previously recognised the important role of blockchain in transforming the world of finance, Rowan simply doesn’t see scenarios for mass adoption of cryptocurrencies in the US at the state level.
Trump is expected to meet with Warsh and Rowan this week to discuss their possible appointment. Again, this information has been reported by sources and not officially confirmed in the new president’s inner circle, which means the final choice of the newly elected president could be different.
It is too early to be upset about this issue, as Trump still has not decided on the person who will take the post of Treasury Secretary. In addition, it is worth understanding that the Securities Commission will play a more important role for the cryptocurrency industry. If its new leadership acts differently from Gary Gensler, it will already be a major victory.
Look for more interesting stuff in our cryptocurrency chat room. There, we’ll talk about other important topics that are affecting the digital asset sphere and shaping the current bullpen.
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