Bitcoin has hit a series of records since the Nov. 5 presidential election, boosted by expectations the incoming Trump administration will be extremely pro-crypto.
Bitcoin was up 2.2% to trade at $95,493.0 by 07:00 ET (12:00 GMT).
Fox News reported Wednesday that the Trump administration wants to shift the bulk of crypto regulatory oversight to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The CFTC oversees the U.S. derivatives market, and is seen as having less strict regulatory standards than the SEC.
Crypto firms in the U.S. have come under intense scrutiny from the SEC in the past number of years, with enforcement actions taken against major crypto companies including Consensys, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Kraken.
XRP – whose issuer Ripple has been embroiled in a long-running lawsuit with the SEC – initially gained more than 7% following the news.
Veteran financial regulator Paul Atkins is among the top contenders to replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler from January, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Atkins, who was reportedly interviewed by Trump’s team, is a proponent of digital assets, and is expected to adopt a much friendlier approach to regulation than Gensler.
Gensler, who said he will resign as Trump takes office next year, has been criticized by crypto proponents for regulating the industry through enforcement.
Reports of Atkins’ consideration as SEC chair also came as Trump picked candidates with pro-crypto stances to head the Treasury and as the Secretary of Commerce.
But despite optimism over the incoming administration’s plans for crypto, analysts at Compass Point said in a client note Wednesday that Trump’s stated plan for a Bitcoin strategic reserve had limited scope.
The Treasury was unlikely to approve more deficit-driven funding for the government to buy Bitcoin, the note said, while Congress – where the Republican party has a small majority – will also be unwilling to increase the U.S. fiscal deficit to purchase crypto.
Compass Point also called the BITCOIN Act, proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis, a “nonstarter.”
Broader cryptocurrency prices were mixed on Thursday. World no.2 crypto Ether was up 4.8% to $3,631.56.
Solana was up 0.7%, Cardano edged down 0.8% while Polygon was 0.6% higher. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin rose 3%.
(Ambar Warrick contributed reporting)
Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
