People Want To Hold More Bitcoin, Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith Says
2024-12-27
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Blockchain Association Kristin Smith CEO told CNBC’s Squawk Box Thursday that people are looking to hold more Bitcoin ahead of the new year as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith
 on the program, Smith indicated that Bitcoin’s growing popularity and the rise of potential Bitcoin reserves could be positive markers for its future.
“Having that change of attitude at the top makes a tremendous amount of difference,” says on Trump’s pro-crypto leadership picks. “We’ve got to strike while the iron is hot here, we need to work on getting the appropriate legislation done.”— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) 
“People are looking to hold more Bitcoin, not less,” Smith said. “Having that change of attitude at the top, having a president who says ‘hey, we want the U.S. to be the capital of this industry, we want to fight for you… makes a tremendous amount of difference.”
Trump, who most recently launched his family’s crypto platform World Liberty Financial, largely campaigned on enacting crypto-friendly regulations when he returned to the Oval Office – a move that Smith noted aligns with the desire of key crypto industry players.
“They want to have a government with some oversight to ensure there aren’t conflicts of interest, that things are running smoothly, that there isn’t any funny business at that level,” Smith continued.Bitcoin Hits All-Time High Post Donald Trump Election
The trade association leader’s comments come as the Satoshi Nakamoto-created cryptocurrency’s value begins to cool following a post-election surge that saw the coin of $108,000.
The anticipation of a United States Bitcoin reserve and Trump’s desire to instate a crypto-friendly regulatory framework seem to catalyze the crypto currency’s remarkable growth.
“We will have regulations,” Trump stated at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference this past summer, adding, “but from now on, the rules will be written by the people who love your industry, not hate your industry.”
Trump’s predicted restructuring of the federal agencies responsible for overseeing digital assets and the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs have contributed to what appears to be a growing interest in crypto investments from the traditional finance sector.
“You have a lot of people who are learning about Bitcoin for the first time and I think that as more and more retail financial advisors are advising their clients to do this, I think we’re going to see more people coming into Bitcoin,” Smith continued.
However, it’s currently unclear how exactly Trump’s time in office will shape the regulatory direction of Bitcoin and its mainstream interest.