In This Newsletter
Impact in Focus Report
Trump Admin Crypto and AI Leadership
BTC Strategic Reserve
Debanking in Digital Assets
We are pleased to announce the publication of our Impact in Focus report. The paper builds on last year's Inclusion in Focus report, which included a series of interviews and discussions with experts from our FinTech Advisory Council. The report considers a question, both profound and pressing, that consistently emerges from our global dialogues with visionary CEOs, start-up innovators, and seasoned industry leaders: How do we measure the true impact of FinTech?
The report is a call to action, inviting all FinTech innovators—start-ups, builders in the lab, time-tested institutions—to delve deeply into understanding and articulating their impact. Together, we can gather insights, amplify what’s working, analyze outcomes, and deploy solutions that drive meaningful change.
Access the full report.
As President Trump commences his second term, significant appointments and policy initiatives are set to influence the FinTech landscape, particularly in the realms of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence (AI), Meritalk reports.
Key leadership appointments include:
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David O. Sacks: One of the “PayPal Mafia” (PayPal founders and employees who have developed additional technology companies based in Silicon Valley), Sacks is appointed as White House AI and crypto czar and will oversee the administration's policies in these domains. His mandate includes developing a legal framework to provide clarity for the US crypto industry. Sacks will also chair the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets (also known as the "Crypto Council)."
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Robert N. (Bo) Hines: Named executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, the advisory group intended to foster innovation and regulatory clarity in the blockchain sector.
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Sriram Krishnan: Selected as senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence, Krishnan will lead AI strategy within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He is tasked with coordinating AI initiatives across federal agencies to ensure US leadership in AI innovation.
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Michael Kratsios: Appointed director of the White House OSTP, Kratsios previously served as chief technology officer during Trump's first term. He will oversee science and technology policies, including AI and crypto initiatives.
A novel policy of the incoming Trump administration will be the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which is envisioned as a strategic commodity reserve similar to government stockpiles of petroleum. In July 2024, Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act, proposing the establishment of a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The bill directs the US Treasury to acquire up to 1 million Bitcoin (BTC) over five years, with annual purchases of 200,000 BTC, Cointelegraph reports.
According to the senator’s office, the rationale behind her proposal is:
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Hedging against Inflation: Some analysts consider Bitcoin's finite supply an attractive deflationary feature.
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Reducing National Debt: Should Bitcoin appreciate, the bill is structured to pay down national debt with those gains.
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Enhancing Financial Leadership: By adopting Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, the bill is aimed to secure the US position as a global leader in financial innovation.
This initiative has garnered support from key political figures, including incoming President Donald Trump, who has called for the US to become a "Bitcoin superpower" and supported creating a national Bitcoin reserve, Crypto Briefing reports.
However, the proposal has faced criticism for lacking a clear impact on the broader financial system, with concerns that a Bitcoin reserve would primarily benefit existing Bitcoin holders, the Financial Times observes.
As the administration considers this policy, it reflects a significant shift toward integrating digital assets into national financial strategies.
The issue of debanking in the digital asset industry has become a focal point of policy discussions, spotlighted during Marc Andreessen’s November appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. Andreessen raised concerns about the growing challenges crypto companies face in maintaining banking relationships, a situation exacerbated by recent regulatory actions.
In January 2025, "pause letters" issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in mid-2022 were made public as part of a lawsuit. These letters instructed banks to halt direct engagement in crypto-related activities until they could demonstrate robust risk-management practices. However, the FDIC stopped short of mandating that banks entirely sever ties with crypto companies. Instead, it outlined an approach to mitigate risks without cutting off crypto businesses from traditional banking services.
On January 3, 2023, a joint statement by the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reiterated the risks associated with crypto-assets, including fraud, legal uncertainties, and extreme market volatility. Regulators emphasized that these risks could be magnified when integrated into the banking system. They urged banks to establish strong risk-management protocols for any crypto-related activities, Reuters reports.
These cautionary measures came just months before the 2023 banking crisis, which saw the high-profile collapses of Signature Bank, Silvergate Bank, and Silicon Valley Bank. Each of these institutions had significant exposure to the digital asset industry.
Critics argue that the joint regulatory guidance imposed compliance burdens so steep that they effectively disincentivized banks from working with crypto firms altogether, which limited the number of financial institutions that crypto firms could bank with to a small number of specialized institutions, NBC News reports.
The Biden administration’s cautious stance on the interplay between digital assets and banking is expected to shift under the Trump administration. Proponents anticipate that the new administration will ease restrictions, creating more opportunities for integration between traditional financial institutions and the crypto sector. This policy pivot could help address the industry’s longstanding concerns over restricted access to banking services.
As the relationship between the digital asset sector and traditional financial services evolves, it will be a key area of focus throughout this year’s FinTech programming. Understanding how these changes unfold will be critical for navigating the next phase of crypto’s institutional adoption.
