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As Donald Trump continues to advocate for crypto during his most recent election campaigns, an independent think tank is urging his opponent and current Vice President Kamala Harris to also address a policy view on decentralized finance (DeFi).
Over the past month, Trump has garnered support in the crypto community, speaking at the Nashville 2024 Bitcoin conference at the end of July 2024.
In an interview with Fox Business on 2 August 2024, Trump further suggested that if the U.S. embraces Bitcoin (BTC), the country could pay off its $35 trillion U.S. national debt.
And while Trump has managed to set himself as a key player for the future of the cryptocurrency industry, Harris has yet to address the crypto community.
According to a statement issued by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) if Harris does not lay out her own agenda for digital assets anytime soon, she could be at risk of “ceding the ground entirely to the Republicans”.
As the current U.S. presidential elections continue to keep the crypto community on their toes, one thing remains sure – the U.S. sits on a $2 trillion crypto goldmine, according to a recent report published by Coinwire.
Could the election campaign play a pivotal role in the U.S.’s crypto trading volume, and what should the crypto industry look out for?
Global Crypto Trading Volume Could Surpass $108 Trillion in 2024
According to Coinwire, the global cryptocurrency trading volume has surged by 42% in the past year, and over the past three years, the market has expanded by 89%, reflecting growing acceptance and a wider global adoption of digital assets.
The United States continues to dominate charts, emerging as the top country whose estimated crypto trading volume in 2024 surpassed $2 trillion.
Meanwhile, Coinwire expects the global cryptocurrency trading volume in 2024 to exceed $108 trillion.
Vijay Pravin Maharajan, the CEO and founder of bitsCrunch, an AI-enabled decentralized blockchain data network, told Techopedia:
“The surge in global crypto trading volume over the past year speaks to the growing consensus that digital assets will play a pivotal role in defining future economic frameworks.”
Maharajan added that the long-awaited approvals of both Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have also brought a surge of institutional investment to the crypto industry, further boosting global trading volume.
Nitin Agarwal, the CRO of FV Bank, a U.S. licensed bank and a digital asset custodian, said:
“We have observed significant growth in institutional investor participation. This has been driven by events like MicroStrategy’s substantial Bitcoin purchases and the approval of Bitcoin ETFs. These early institutional investors have paved the way, though retail investors and larger institutional players are still catching up.
“While we’ve seen some early movers in the institutional space, broader adoption is still unfolding, and there’s potential for even more growth as these groups continue to enter the market.”
However, Ben Weiss, the CEO and co-founder of CoinFlip, a U.S.-based digital currency platform, added that crypto’s growing popularity in 2024 could also be attributed to the role it plays in the current U.S. elections as politicians are leaning into digital assets in an effort to “appeal to voters”.
Crypto Offers U.S. Citizens Opportunity to Build Wealth
While speaking with Techopedia, CoinFlip’s Weiss noted that considering the rising cost of living in the United States, digital assets are offering “everyday Americans” an alternative way to build wealth and combat inflation.
“Bitcoin’s finite supply provides anti-inflationary characteristics that printed cash and gold struggle to emulate. Additionally, some of the biggest innovators in the game are headquartered here, we have deep liquidity opportunities and even institutional adoption from reputable leaders given the recent ETF approvals.”
Other industry experts agree with Weiss, noting that the U.S. currently sees itself at the forefront of innovation across the industry spectrum. BitsCrunch’s Maharajan added that the country’s fintech-savvy population and the budding narrative around BTC as a hedge against inflation could further contribute to the current rise in trading volume.
It could seem that Trump was also sharing similar ideas, as he mentioned in a recent interview with Fox Business that if the U.S. continues to endorse cryptocurrencies, the country could potentially pay off its $35 trillion debt.
According to FV Bank’s Agarwal, such positive comments have further contributed to a more favorable crypto environment within the United States in terms of trading volume and regulatory developments.
“While countries like China still have strict bans on crypto, and institutional traction is limited, we’ve seen some movement in regions like Hong Kong.
“However, a large portion of the world still needs more regulatory clarity and participation. Thus, the U.S. remains at the forefront, leading in both trading volume and regulatory developments.”
First U.S. Elections with High Focus on Crypto
According to the OMFIF this “will be the first U.S. electoral cycle in which crypto policy is going to play a major role”, however, industry experts are already highlighting how the current election campaign has affected the cryptocurrency industry, specifically in terms of trading volume.
“The election campaign is already impacting these statistics with enthusiasts like Fairshake raising over $200 million for crypto PACs, surpassing all other fundraising efforts in the U.S. political scene,” Weiss said, adding that a candidate’s stance on crypto could swing the entire election which also simultaneously could impact volumes one way or another.
“Despite crypto’s practical use cases like combatting inflation or sending money anywhere in the world instantly, it has historically been treated like an outsider – often overlooked and undervalued by people who haven’t leveraged its utility yet until now. Crypto becoming a campaign topic solidifies its legitimacy as an asset while also paving the way for widespread adoption.”
Commenting on the topic, Tim Kravchunovsky, the founder and CEO of Chirp, a decentralized telecommunication network, added that while Trump’s policies are “piecemeal at best”, his openness towards blockchain technology remains “promising”.
“Trump needs to learn more about the depth of development in the blockchain industry. Despite what he might think, it’s not just about Bitcoin. There is so much more exciting innovation happening that can change American lives for the better.”
BitsCrunch’s Maharajan noted that the current electoral campaign “has shown that crypto is an important election issue, with large swatches of votes up for grabs for the candidate that can cultivate the most favorable crypto environment”.
Trump’s recent crypto promises included firing the current Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, Gary Gensler, and having all BTC mined in the U.S., the crypto community continues to closely observe not just Trump’s but also Harris’ next steps.
“I think crypto is going to be a bipartisan agenda, not just a focus for one party. Regardless of which party wins — whether it’s Harris or Trump — they will likely seek some regulatory clarity in the crypto space. It seems both sides are inclined to lean into this area.
“I expect the regulatory landscape to start with Bitcoin, followed by other major cryptocurrencies. Both parties will likely aim to bring innovation and mining back to the U.S., capitalizing on the country’s vast resources and economic power. As the largest economy, the U.S. has the potential to drive global change in this sector,” FV Bank’s Agarwal concluded.
The Bottom Line
CoinFlip’s Weiss wanted to remind readers that we are still “in the first inning for cryptocurrency”, meaning that its future in the United States requires every key player to work together to develop thoughtful regulation.
With major players like BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck entering the crypto space, many crypto experts also remain bullish on the future of crypto in the U.S. FV Bank’s Agarwal added that with crypto becoming part of the election agenda, he anticipates a lot of movement in the U.S. crypto market.
“This development will likely drive the rest of the world as well, similar to how the U.S. has led in other areas such as AI innovation.”
