After celebrating Donald Trump’s second presidential term by swilling cocktails and partying to Snoop Dogg at a pre-inauguration event in January, the crypto industry went on to notch major legislative and regulatory victories this year. But the party may not continue into 2026.
Among the industry’s biggest wins under Trump’s crypto-friendly second administration were the Securities and Exchange Commission’s swift move to rescind stringent crypto accounting guidance and dismiss Biden-era lawsuits against Coinbase, Binance and others, as well as the passage of a landmark law creating federal rules for dollar-pegged crypto tokens.
A top bank regulator also eased rules on banks’ crypto dealings and conditionally approved bank licenses for crypto firms. Along with Trump’s creation of a bitcoin stockpile and the SEC’s approval of a raft of new crypto products, the changes together helped propel bitcoin to new peaks this year and pave the way for wider crypto adoption, sparking warnings from critics over potential investor and systemic risks.
But crypto market structure legislation and carve-outs from SEC rules that should fix core, longstanding problems for the industry are yet to come, threatening to sap the industry’s celebratory mood.
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