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President-elect Donald Trump is capitalizing on Bitcoin's recent milestone while strengthening confidence in the crypto market with his new cabinet pick.
Shortly after Bitcoin hit the $100,000 mark on Thursday, Trump took to Truth Social to take credit for the achievement.
"CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!" Trump wrote in a post.
The $100K figure, albeit somewhat arbitrary, reflects the market's overwhelming confidence in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as an investment asset.
Blockhead
On Wednesday, Trump announced that he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Describing Atkins as a "proven leader for common sense regulations,” Trump has backed the CEO of Patomak Partners as the frontrunner to replace Gary Gensler.
The crypto industry has welcomed the news. Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase, congratulated Atkins in a post on X.
“We appreciate his commitment to balance in regulating U.S. securities markets and look forward to his fresh leadership at (the SEC),” Grewal wrote. “It’s sorely needed and cannot come a day too soon.”
Congratulations to Mr. Atkins. We appreciate his commitment to balance in regulating US securities markets and look forward to his fresh leadership at @SECGov. It's sorely needed and cannot come a day too soon. https://t.co/QRBC2MSPGe
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) December 4, 2024
Trump has since named venture capitalist David Sacks as his lead policy adviser on artificial intelligence and crypto.
“David O. Sacks will be the ‘White House A.I. & Crypto Czar,’" Trump announced on Truth Social. “He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.”
Sacks' role will involve "safeguarding free speech online" and "steering us away from Big Tech bias and censorship" as well as establishing a legal framework for the crypto industry.
Sacks is a founding member of the "PayPal Mafia," and is known for his role in scaling PayPal and for founding Yammer, which Microsoft acquired for $1.2 billion.
He is a co-founder and general partner at Craft Ventures, a venture capital firm backing early-stage startups. Sacks has been involved in notable investments, including Uber, SpaceX, and Airbnb.
