Crypto Finally Has Its A-Team

Within a week, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. The crypto market waits with bated breath, praying that promises made to promote innovation are kept and that the long-awaited, broad adaption of blockchain technology is allowed to flourish.

The A-Team of crypto-friendly advisors and regulatory chairs have been assembled. The first day in office hints at multiple Executive Orders that could pave the way for an end to crypto Chokepoint 2.0. Notably, the SAB 121 accounting rule from the SEC could be relegated to the trash can of history. This unworkable accounting rule on banks by the SEC saw banks refuse to become involved in usage or in the custody crypto assets. Effectively, it required them to back assets held by equal cash reserves. A push by the Republicans and Democrats sought to squash this rule, which passed the lower and upper houses only to be vetoed by President Biden.

With the chair of the SEC Gensler and President Biden on the way out the door, one could see this restrictive rule removed, paving the way for banks to pivot and allow funds held in customers’ savings accounts to swap into crypto assets, leading to greater investment and participation. Locking these assets up into institutional-grade custody services could influence an asset’s TVL or “total value locked” thus positively impacting supply-demand fundamentals.

If Trump is true to his word and “getting what he wants” the first 100 days of office could provide fireworks for crypto industry participants and retail investors. As mentioned before, the A-Team has been assembled, including a crypto czar, crypto industry advisory council, SEC Chair, removal of anti-crypto SEC board members, crypto-friendly Senate Banking Committee members… the list goes on.

Perhaps, the company most eager for the imminent change of Administration and SEC Chair would be Ripple, who is still engaged in a long, overdrawn legal battle with the SEC. Even though a settlement / fine amount of US$125m was issued by Judge Torres, the SEC further delayed finality of the case by indicating it would appeal aspects of the judgement. One aspect not appealed was Judge Torres’s decision that the digital asset XRP was not a security of Ripple the company.

The SEC’s appeal brief has until the 15th of January 2025 to be filed with the Appellate Court of NY. Failure to do so would have the appeal thrown out. It’s highly doubtful, the SEC will miss this opportunity to scuff their shoes on the carpet as neutered Chair Gensler leaves the room. History could repeat as we recall former Chair Jay Clayton dropping the lawsuit against Ripple on 23/12/2020 as he walked out of the office with his box of belongings.

It would seem a fruitless exercise to have some SEC lawyer compiling a brief over the past number of months only to lodge it and then weeks later, have the new SEC Chair Atkins request a summary of all non-fraud cases outstanding and take the axe to them. One could imagine the conversation… “Does this case involve fraud? No. Was anyone financially harmed? No. Has there been a Court decision? Yes. Is there a settlement/ fine on the table to get it finalised? Yes… Get it done.”

Such a decision could be monumental and provide further impetuous to an already strong, late 2024 early 2025 performance of XRP.  The last time there was a Court decision favouring XRP (13 July 2023) it more than doubled within minutes.

In other positive news for the company, Ripple and by extension the XRP digital asset, is Ripple’s recent platinum membership to the American Bankers Association (ABA). This represents an important step to access and integrate with the United States banking system. The ABA represents over 4,000 banks, and with platinum membership, Ripple now has access to inner circle decision-making processes, which could allow integrations with the XRP Ledger. Combine this with the SAB 121 rule potentially being revoked, allowing banks to custody digital assets… it's hard not to connect some dots.

It's hard to see the future, but what is clear, is that 2025 is shaping up to be explosive. What does remain certain is that blockchain technology’s future is bright. Those who have been students of this technology and participated by investing in the emerging protocol layer of the new financial system could see the fruits of their labour ripen and enter harvesting season.