Non-profit crypto advocacy group Coin Center has warned that even though a Trump win is a net positive for the crypto industry, entrenched policies could still scare crypto innovators away from the United States.
In a Nov. 21 blog post analyzing the landscape of US crypto policy following the 2024 election, Coin Center’s research director Van Valkenburgh shared three “grave threats” to the crypto users and developers in the US heading into 2025.
All three threats are described broadly as “surveillance issues” and range from tax reporting and anti-money laundering (AML) policy to the ongoing criminal proceedings involving the crypto mixer Tornado Cash and Bitcoin wallet service Samourai Wallet.
Three “grave” threats to crypto
The first major threat comes from the crypto reporting requirements under Section 6050I of the US tax code which currently mandates warrantless reporting to the IRS for those who have received $10,000 in crypto.
In August last year, Coin Center argued that these reporting requirements are unconstitutional.
The second and third major threats stem from the sanctions placed on Tornado Cash and include the criminal charges for unlicensed money transmission brought against the mixing service and Samourai Wallet.
Coin Center says the charges brought against Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm could set a worrying precedent for developers on non-custodial crypto services.
“At the agency level, there’s reason to believe that controversial ongoing rulemakings will be frozen or even abandoned due to President Trump’s generally pro-crypto stance and his likely choices for appointees at the SEC and Treasury.”
Related: CFTC commissioner urges US crypto policy reforms
However, Valkenburgh wrote that the new administration may not be interested in scaling back “overzealous” sanctions and AML policies.
“The [Department of Justice] may change under a Trump administration, but it rightly guards its political independence and may therefore be unlikely to abandon these prosecutions because of a change in administration,” Valkenburgh said.
“We’re nonetheless hopeful that there can be progress here if it becomes increasingly clear that even with a friendlier SEC, draconian surveillance and control policies will continue to drive innovators away from the US, chill development, and deny ordinary Americans the benefits of these technologies.”
Valkenburgh added that the ongoing measures to prevent people from accessing crypto services do “very little to actually prevent criminals and terrorists” from using the tools.
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