Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad speaks at the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel in New York City on September 24, 2024.
John Rampalski | Getty Images for Concordia Summit
LONDON — Coinbase’s top policy executive expects the U.S. to quickly regulate the cryptocurrency industry once Donald Trump becomes president.
Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad told CNBC that he believes crypto legislation will pass Congress “fairly quickly” now that the president-elect, who is notorious for his pro-crypto policies, enters the White House.
The Republican Party also won three consecutive victories in office, taking control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Hilzad suggested that this should make the encryption law approval process smoother.
“We have the most pro-crypto Congress in history, and we have a very pro-crypto president coming into office,” Shirzad told CNBC last week at an event organized by the UK branch of Coinbase-backed advocacy group Stand With Crypto.
“I think this combination should ultimately allow the 50 million Americans who own cryptocurrencies to have their interests and voices heard in policy.”
His comments come as two key pieces of cryptocurrency-related legislation make their way through Congress.
One was initiated by the Republican Party 21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Actaiming to establish a legal framework for digital assets. The bill passed the House of Representatives earlier this year.
the other is Payment Clarity Stablecoin ActThe bill seeks to establish a regulatory regime to license issuers of stablecoins – tokens that are tied to the value of fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar. The stablecoin bill has yet to pass a vote in the House of Representatives.
Shirzad told CNBC that he was “optimistic” about the legislation’s passage, but noted that the chances of crypto legislation being considered during the so-called “lame duck” period after the election were “very slim.”
Even if Congress does not give the green light to cryptocurrency laws this year, Shirzad predicts that “market structure legislation and stablecoin legislation will see significant changes and be passed in 2025.”
Cryptocurrency’s lobbying power
Trump’s election victory marks a major victory for the crypto industry, but it also highlights the power of the crypto lobbying machine.
Cryptocurrency-related political action committees (PACs) — organizations that pool member contributions to fund campaigns — and other groups tied to the industry have raised more than $245 million, according to Federal Election Commission data.
Meanwhile, the Coinbase-backed Stand With Crypto Alliance developed a scoring system to determine House and Senate candidates’ support or opposition to cryptocurrencies. According to Stand With Crypto, nearly 300 pro-cryptocurrency lawmakers will take seats in the House and Senate.
Last month, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler announced that he would resign on January 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration. Trump has long promised to succeed Gensler, who took an aggressive approach to cryptocurrency regulation while serving as SEC chairman.
Shirzad said he couldn’t predict who Trump’s SEC picks would be, but said the president-elect is “very good at picking people who share his vision, and he has a very comprehensive platform in cryptocurrency.”
He added: “I think as long as he picks a change agent and shares his vision, I think it’s going to be good for America, good for society, good for people who own cryptocurrency.”
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