Donald Trump’s transition team is packed with Bitcoin advocates

In recent appointments to the transition team, former President Donald Trump has clearly shown his support for cryptocurrency. The group includes several prominent Bitcoin proponents.

On August 16, Trump announced that two campaign donors would co-lead his transition team. The co-chairs are Howard Lutnick – CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and an advocate of Bitcoin and stablecoins – and WWE co-founder Linda McMahon.

Trump's appointments point to a pro-crypto direction

Trump also named his vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance, a prominent bitcoin investor and his pro-crypto sons — Eric and Donald Jr. — as honorary co-chairs of the group. That means Trump's team is led by at least four people who are strong supporters of the emerging industry.

The main task of the transition team is to lay the foundation for the new administration. They focus on vetting candidates for political office and preparing policies.

The crypto community sees this team as a huge win for the industry. Industry stakeholders have pointed to Lutnick's leadership as particularly promising for crypto if Trump wins.

“[The] Howard Lutnick's inclusion is huge for crypto. He personally spoke about stablecoins to the House Republican conference last year and is a big crypto bull. At BTC Nashville, Cantor Fitzgerald announced that it is launching a major BTC lending arm.” said Alexander Grieve, head of government relations at crypto venture capital firm Paradigm.

Crypto has become an important part of the upcoming election season. Thus, Trump's announcement sparked comparisons between his team and Vice President Kamala Harris in the crypto community.

Read more: How to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and everything you need to know

Despite Trump's support for digital assets, VP Harris' position is unclear. The crypto community speculates that if elected, she could reinforce the opposite approach of the Biden administration. Their speculation is based on the fact that she is surrounded by people with anti-crypto leanings.

Indeed, Grieve Harris points out that he is surrounded by figures such as former National Economic Council Director Brian Dice, known in the industry as the architect of “Chokepoint 2.0”, an initiative aimed at crypto companies. Her team may also include National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurthy, Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler – all critics of the crypto industry.

Read More: How Does Regulation Affect Crypto Trading? Complete guide

With this in mind, Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad suggested that Harris should encourage the pro-crypto Democrats in her ranks to ensure that the Biden administration's crackdown on crypto does not allow engineers to dominate the conversation.

“People will ultimately shape policy, so this is a good time to clarify the signals being sent on crypto policy to each side. There are some extraordinary Democratic leaders who are pro-crypto,” he added.