How Trump came around to crypto - and what crypto wants in return

With US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration just a week away, cryptocurrency executives are jockeying for access to Trump himself and for a seat on the planned crypto advisory council, expected to be formed soon after he takes office on Jan 20.

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Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire said on Jan 9 on social media platform X that the stablecoin company contributed tokens worth US$1 million (S$1.37 million) to Trump's inaugural committee, joining a parade of other CEOs vying for favor as the incoming administration works to form a key crypto industry group.

The planned crypto advisory council, which industry insiders intend to use to influence the incoming administration's digital-asset policies, may comprise about two dozen CEOs and founders, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak on the record.

Most of the likely appointees already have existing relationships with Trump, and have visited him in recent months, the people said. Trump and his inner circle, including incoming White House artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto czar David Sacks, are still weighing potential appointees.

Mar-a-Lago has hosted a steady stream of crypto hopefuls since Trump's re-election in November.

In December 2024, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek met Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss crypto industry appointments and regulations. Last week, Ripple chiefs Brad Garlinghouse and Stu Alderoty had dinner with Trump and discussed the industry at large, as well as the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit against the company, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

Mr Brian Armstrong of Coinbase Global, the largest crypto exchange in the US, has also spoken with Trump in recent weeks. Coinbase, rival exchange Kraken and start-up Ondo have all pledged US$1 million to the President-elect's inaugural committee. Ripple said in December that it planned to donate US$5 million worth of XRP tokens.