Crypto Industry Lobbies Trump and His Allies After Election Wins

As Bitcoin soars to record highs, cryptocurrency executives are maneuvering to influence Donald J. Trump’s transition and secure their policy goals.

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 J. 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 Mr. 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 Mr. Trump’s transition team to arrange a conversation between Mr. Lutnick and Brian Armstrong, the company’s chief executive, 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 Mr. Trump about personnel decisions for the new administration. Executives at Circle, a large U.S. 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, Mr. 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 U.S. 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.

On Monday, the price of Bitcoin hit a new high of nearly $90,000, as investors expressed confidence that the industry’s political spending would translate to softer regulations.

The spending “sets a terrifying example of influence-peddling,” Lisa Gilbert, a co-president of the consumer group Public Citizen, said in a statement. “The sheer volume spent, and its effectiveness, teaches other corporate actors exactly the wrong lesson.”

Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the transition, said in a statement that Mr. Trump’s personnel decisions for the new administration would be “announced when they are made.” A spokeswoman for Coinbase declined to comment on Mr. Armstrong’s contact with Mr. Lutnick.

During the Biden administration, the crypto industry struggled to establish a foothold in Washington. The 2022 collapse of the FTX crypto exchange spooked some of the industry’s allies in Congress, and the S.E.C. sued large crypto companies like Coinbase, a legal offensive that threatened to push much of the industry offshore.

Now crypto executives are optimistic that the new leaders in Congress and the White House will advance many of the industry’s central aims.

“A lot of folks are trying to put together their wish lists and reach out to the campaign and the transition through different channels,” said Kristin Smith, the chief executive of the Blockchain Association, a crypto trade group. She said she was scheduled to speak at a crypto conference in Miami this week hosted by Mr. Lutnick’s firm and hoped to meet people in his orbit.

Other executives have been angling for introductions to Mr. Trump’s allies, calling anyone who might help them secure a spot on a crypto advisory council that the president-elect has promised to establish. Senator Bill Hagerty, Republican of Tennessee, has emerged as a key figure, helping introduce industry leaders to Mr. Trump’s team, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

In public and private, industry leaders have also recommended candidates to replace the S.E.C.’s chair, Gary Gensler, a staunch crypto critic.

On Thursday, Mr. Armstrong of Coinbase wrote on X that Mr. Trump should pick the S.E.C. commissioner Hester Peirce to lead the agency. Ms. Peirce, a Republican, has repeatedly clashed with Mr. Gensler over his efforts to regulate the crypto sector.

In another post, Mr. Garlinghouse suggested three possible names for chair — Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Giancarlo and Brian Brooks, a former banking regulator who has worked for Coinbase and served as the chief executive of Bitfury, a Bitcoin firm.

Coinbase and Ripple were two of the largest backers of the crypto super PAC Fairshake, which spent tens of millions to sway the election. Mr. Brooks, Mr. Giancarlo and Ms. Peirce declined to comment. Mr. Gallagher did not respond to a request for comment.

“The Biden administration’s war on crypto is coming to an end,” Mr. Garlinghouse said in an interview. “That’s good for America.”

In Congress, some crypto executives are pushing for a law that would facilitate the trading of stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant price of $1. Other companies and investors have backed a bill that would make it harder for the S.E.C. to pursue crypto firms in court for securities violations. Mr. Gensler has warned that the legislation would create regulatory gaps and put investors at “immeasurable risk.”

Some of the industry’s other policy aims appear focused on pushing Bitcoin’s price even higher. On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump promised to create a “strategic national Bitcoin stockpile.” He also said he would establish a “Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council” to create regulatory guidance for the industry.

“Would anybody like to be on that particular council?” he said to cheers at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville in July. “Please raise your hands.”

Matthew Goldstein contributed reporting from New York.

Trump Builds His Administration

As his team ramps up the transition process, President-elect Donald Trump says his administration will radically reshape the federal government.

• Foreign Policy: While many of Trump’s foreign policy picks were once called neocons by their peers, they now speak the language of the “America First” movement.
• Skirting the Senate: Trump’s demand that Senate Republicans surrender their role in vetting his nominees poses an early test of whether his second term will be more radical than his first.
• Department of Education: The president-elect said he would use the department to further his priorities. He also said he would close it. Both options would face difficulties.
• Middle East: Trump’s nominees to serve as top diplomatic envoys to Israel and the Middle East indicate a staunch pro-Israel policy.
• Deportations: Trump is signaling with his staffing decisions his intention to carry out a campaign promise of widespread deportations of undocumented immigrants.