With President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration just a weeks away, Trump and his new administration are preparing to set up the crypto advisory council, which is due to be formed soon after he takes the office on Jan 20.

According to insiders, the crypto advisory council will feature around two dozen top industry CEOs and founders. It is speculated that most of the potential appointees are said to have an existing relationship with Trump and have recently engaged with him.

The potential candidate for this council will be evaluated by both Trump and David Sacks, the incoming AI and crypto czar.

Cryptocurrency executives vying for a slice of power

Because of this, many cryptocurrency executives have been meeting Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago, Trump own resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

Executives who have already made their visit include Crypto.com Ceo Kris Marszalek and Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Stude Alderoty.

There are also other executives like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and other executives from companies such as Kraken and Ondo who have also engaged with Trump in recent weeks, each contributing $1 million to his inaugural committee.

In support of the new administration, the crypto industry has prepared an "Inaugural Crypto Ball" for Trump, which is scheduled on January 17 in Washington.

Tickets for the event are priced at $2,500, with participation from entities like BTC Media, Stand With Crypto (supported by Coinbase), Anchorage Digital, Exodus, and Kraken. Sponsors include MetaMask, Galaxy Digital, and Coinbase, reflecting the sector’s unified efforts to influence policy.

Trump’s sudden shift in perspective on crypto

Trump was once a heavy opponent, Trump's stance on cryptocurrency has since evolved. During his presidential campaign, Trump endorsed Bitcoin, describing it as a symbol of freedom and independence.

During his speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, Trump declared his ambition to position the U.S. as a global crypto leader. Since his campaign, it has caused the price of Bitcoin to reach record highs, with the token surpassing $108,000 in December.

This shift has garnered support from prominent figures, including venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, as well as billionaire entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, who donated $238.5 million to a Trump-aligned PAC.

The Trump family has actively participated in crypto projects, such as World Liberty Financial, which launched its WLFI token. The platform has amassed more than 16,000 users at the end of October, just weeks after the project backed by Trump and his sons began selling the cryptocurrency to accredited investors on its platform.

The project attracted high-profile investors, including Justin Sun, who committed $30 million, leaving the Trump family poised to earn significant returns.

Additionally, Trump also ventured into other digital assets. He has released four collections of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) featuring heroic images of himself in different costumes and settings. The most recent collection of NFTs, which he dubbed digital trading cards, sold in August for US $99 each on the primary market.

Erasing the restriction created by Gensler

One of the first things Trump promised to do after his inauguration is to fire the SEC chairman Gary Gensler. Trump has nominated crypto supporter Paul Atkins to replace Gensler, and that announcement helped Bitcoin to climb above US$100,000 for the first time.

Crypto Executives Are Vying To Have A Say In Future Crypto Policies By Snuggling Up To Trump To Stand a Chance to Join The Crypto Advisory Council.

Trump's intentions to remove Gensler is one of his plans to achieve his crypto plans for the country. During his tenure as the Chairman of the SEC, Gensler was known for his hard stance on crypto and for suffocating regulations on crypto.

Back in 2022, Gensler and his legislation proposed a bill to tighten US oversight of crypto. The bill would have given the CommodityFutres Trading Commission additional authority to oversee digital coins that are deemed to be commodities-likely providing the regulator with direct oversight of Bitcoin and Ether, the second-largest token by market capitalisation.

What does the crypto industry expect from Trump

So what exactly does the crypto industry expect from Trump? Many in the industry are expecting Trump to take a hands-off approach and approval of additional crypto ETFs.

The crypto industry is also expecting clearer regulatory framework for crypto, answering questions such as what exactly crypto is and how the industry should operate legally?

Advocates are also pushing for crypto to be classified as a commodities rather than securities, which would make them fall under the remit of the CFTC.

Some in the crypto industry would also like to see Trump not only follow through on his plan to introduce a strategic US Bitcoin stockpile, but also have the government buy more of the token for the reserve.