Donald Trump’s potential victory in the November elections could result in the dismissal of several Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crypto lawsuits, according to a crypto lawyer. However, others note that Trump has a history of not keeping promises.
Crypto lawyer James Murphy, also known as “MetaLawMan,” wrote in a May 26 post that he wouldn’t settle any crypto case with the current SEC before seeing how the election turns out. He expects a very different SEC under Trump, who has recently positioned himself as the crypto industry’s choice. Trump has expressed support for crypto, stating that the United States must be the leader in the field. He even promised to commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s life sentence if elected.
Murphy added that he could imagine voluntary dismissals of crypto cases initiated by the current SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, where there was no fraud or victims involved.
However, Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, took a contrarian view, claiming that Trump has a history of backpedaling and selling out others for his own interests. He believes that Trump, like Biden, is pandering to get votes. Alexander Blume, a partner at Two Prime hedge fund, supported this argument, stating that Trump has a track record of making promises to desperate people or groups and not honoring them.
Analysis from fact-checking site PolitiFact shows that Trump broke over half of the 102 promises made during his 2016 presidential campaign, compromised on 23, and kept 24.
Trump has also made anti-crypto remarks in the past. As president, he tweeted that he was not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, claiming they were based on thin air. In 2021, he further stated that crypto may be fake and a disaster waiting to happen.
However, crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro argued that Trump’s negative comments about crypto on Twitter cannot be compared to the four-year witch hunt that the Biden administration has waged on crypto.
Despite Trump’s past remarks and promises, some crypto industry executives remain skeptical. Mike Dudas, founder of crypto outlet The Block turned venture capitalist, stated that while he dislikes Trump on many levels, his promises mean that he will be allowed to pursue his livelihood and provide for his family, investors, founders, and their employees.
According to Morning Consult’s 2024 presidential election polling, Trump currently has a one percentage point lead over President Joe Biden. The US will head to the polls on November 5th.
Overall, fear and doubt among lawmakers are driving proposed crypto regulations in the US.