Six months into Donald Trump’s return to the White House, one thing is clear: the biggest winners so far aren’t oil executives or Wall Street bankers. They’re crypto bros.

Yes, the same industry that melted down in 2022—taking with it crypto exchange FTX, its “visionary” CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (now serving 25 years in prison), and billions in investor money—is suddenly back. Stronger. Richer. And more politically powerful than ever.

That’s because crypto didn’t just bet on Trump. It bankrolled him. And now that investment is paying off.

Trump Says He Built Crypto. The Industry Is Letting Him

During a June 27 press conference, Trump made an astonishing claim: “I’m president, and what I did do there is build an industry that’s very important.” He then declared crypto to be a “strategic industry,” the kind of thing America must dominate to beat China.

To skeptics, it’s classic Trump bombast. But inside the industry, this is music. Having a president who openly champions the technology, hosts crypto firms at the White House, and signals green lights across government is exactly what they wanted. And it’s working.

Crypto’s Congressional Wish List? Mostly Granted

Since January, the crypto industry has racked up a string of legislative and regulatory wins that seemed impossible two years ago.

1. The Genius Act
Passed by the Senate this spring, this sweeping bill legalizes and regulates stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to traditional money like the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins are crypto’s great rebrand: they’re less casino, more savings account. They promise “stability” in a market known for volatility. This act gives them federal legitimacy, opening the door for banks, credit cards, and even mortgage lenders to use them.

2. The U.S. Crypto Reserve
A new Treasury-backed program that will stockpile major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as a strategic asset, alongside gold and foreign currency reserves.

3. SEC Shake-Up
Gone is Gary Gensler, the Biden-era regulator loathed by the industry for pursuing crypto lawsuits. In is Paul Atkins, who’s vowed to create “clear and rational” rules, particularly around custody (who holds your coins), issuance, and fraud enforcement. He also supports self-custody, meaning people can keep their crypto in private wallets, outside banks.

4. Mortgage Reform
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is now exploring whether crypto assets like Bitcoin can count as proof of wealth in mortgage applications.

All of this is happening under Trump’s watch.

Wall Street Is Back on the Chain

With regulation finally catching up, the crypto market is booming.

• Bitcoin is trading just below $111,000, a new all-time high
• The entire crypto market is now worth $3.4 trillion, up from less than $1 trillion at the start of 2023.
• Circle, the stablecoin issuer, just had a blockbuster IPO, jumping from a $6 billion valuation to $43 billion in weeks.
• Coinbase, Robinhood, and MicroStrategy have all seen their stocks surge.

Stablecoins Are Crypto’s Trojan Horse

Let’s be honest: most people associate crypto with pump-and-dump coins, monkey JPEGs, or Elon Musk tweets. Stablecoins are different. They’re pegged to the dollar and engineered not to swing wildly in value. Think of them as PayPal with a blockchain backend. That’s why big players are all experimenting with stablecoins for payments. It’s also why lawmakers are embracing them.

NFTs were a joke. Stablecoins are serious.

But the Casino Hasn’t Closed

Despite the sheen of legitimacy, crypto is still crawling with meme coins and scams.

Thousands of new coins launch every month. According to CoinGecko, there are 17,533 listed cryptocurrencies as of time of writing. Some skyrocket in price, vanish overnight, and leave no trace. Others are outright fraud. In 2024, crypto scams led to $5.8 billion in reported losses, according to the FBI.

A recent Department of Justice investigation seized $225 million linked to “pig butchering” schemes, a long-con scams that drain victims over time using fake crypto investments.

And AI is only making them harder to spot.

Follow the Money

This new golden era didn’t happen by accident.

Crypto firms and super PACs spent more than $180 million in the 2024 election cycle, outspending every other industry group. Their PAC, Fairshake, helped elect dozens of pro-crypto lawmakers.

Now they have a president who returns the favor. Trump not only praises the industry, his sons actively invest in it, from tokens to mining operations. As long as he’s in office, crypto has a seat at the table.

Our Take

Crypto is having a moment. Regulation is finally friendly. Investors are confident. And the White House is all-in.

But the industry’s greatest enemy is still itself. Crypto has a pattern: boom, hype, crash, repeat. If it wants to be treated like Wall Street, it must leave the casino behind and clean up its scams.

Right now, it has the wind at its back. And for once, that wind is coming from Washington.