- The Washington Times - Monday, December 9, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump wants to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world” through sensible regulation of the decentralized form of currency, Eric Trump said Monday.

Eric Trump, the president-elect’s second-oldest son, said his father fully supports cryptocurrency and believes the modern banking system is antiquated.

“It’s just a matter of time before crypto not only catches up but just really leaps ahead. And so, we’re incredibly excited on a lot of fronts,” Eric Trump told CNBC’s Dan Murphy. “I think America will be the crypto capital of the world. I fully support it. My father fully supports it.”

The price of bitcoin — a prominent form of cryptocurrency — hit $100,000 last week, a major milestone.

The surge in price coincided with President-elect Trump’s decision to select Paul Atkins, viewed as crypto-friendly, as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bitcoin is a type of digital investment that allows users to log transactions on peer-to-peer networks instead of using a financial institution. Transactions are recorded on what’s known as a blockchain.

Crypto is often viewed as experimental and has gone through boom-and-bust cycles since its creation in 2008 as a response to the financial crisis.

Its supporters are banking on President-elect Trump to bring crypto into the mainstream.

“The people in the crypto industry are frustrated that no one’s ever put together a sensible plan as to how to regulate an industry. They’re fine with regulation, but they just want guidelines, and they’ve said that,” Eric Trump said. “We will have a clear road map, and hopefully the rest of the world follows that. Hopefully, we can lead by example, because that’s what we should do as Americans. And hopefully, we truly are the crypto superpower of the world.”

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

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