Opinion: Trump’s ‘America First’ Crypto ETFs Make Zero Sense
Donald Trump’s pro-crypto outlook doesn’t just apply to the policies coming out of the White House — it expands to his business interests, too.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Trump Media, which counts the president as its largest stakeholder, is set to launch a flurry of ETFs in partnership with Crypto.com. The exchange-traded funds are expected to have a “Made in America” focus — and feature digital assets as well as securities.
While it’s been confirmed there will be allocations for Bitcoin and Cronos, it’s unclear which other altcoins are going to be part of the portfolio. Trump’s fixation with all things “America First” is well-documented — and touches everything from migration to border security. But applying this approach to digital assets doesn’t actually make sense… in fact, it could drag the industry backward.
One of crypto’s most powerful use cases lies in how they enable cross-border transfers to take place quickly and inexpensively. Anyone, anywhere can now create a coin of their own (and looking at pump.fun over the past 12 months, it seems everyone has.) Building an ETF focused on “American” cryptocurrencies creates the false impression that digital assets invented in the U.S. are superior to all others — when this might not be the case. It’s also a fallacy given how we don’t exactly know where Bitcoin was conceived. There’s long been speculation that Satoshi Nakamoto might have been British. After all, BTC’s whitepaper was full of U.K. English spellings… and the genesis block featured a headline from The Times of London.
This exchange-traded fund has the potential to cause investors to miss out on healthy gains, because “non-American” cryptocurrencies aren’t included. And it risks creating greater levels of centralization, tribalization and fragmentation in the crypto world — at a time when decentralization and greater collaboration is more needed than ever.
Crypto.com has said Trump Media’s ETFs will be available to this exchange’s 140 million users “around the world” — so why not create crypto-focused products that reflect the diverse range of coins and tokens that exist internationally? The president’s “America First” tactics often have a way of shooting the U.S. in the foot. Wednesday’s announcement of 25% tariffs on all imported cars will just increase prices for consumers — whether they’re buying a Toyota or a domestically made vehicle.
Equally, an “America First” strategy with crypto ETFs has the potential to alienate hundreds of millions of consumers in developing nations who have embraced real use cases for digital assets. Across Latin America, Bitcoin has become a lifeline for those looking to preserve wealth in the face of hyperinflation. The U.S. came fourth in the Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index last year — with the top three places going to India, Nigeria and Indonesia.
Trump’s best chance of championing America’s dominance in this industry is through regulation — and looking at the bills working their way through Congress right now, there is progress here. The GENIUS Act has the potential to deliver much-needed regulation for the stablecoin sector — and broaden access to digital dollars worldwide. This could help cement the greenback’s reputation as the world’s dominant reserve currency in the 21st century… staving off the threat of de-dollarization.
And while the recently unveiled strategic Bitcoin reserve might not have been everything that enthusiasts had hoped for, the fact that the U.S. will now hold on to billions of dollars worth of BTC as an investment will undoubtedly encourage other major economies to do the same.
Exchange-traded funds focused on the spot price of Bitcoin and Ether have witnessed insatiable demand on Wall Street — and there’s a decent chance that the SEC will soon allow ETFs tracking other altcoins to launch, too. That means there might not be as much of an appetite for these “America First” ETFs anyway — and given the president’s past track record when it comes to rolling out crypto products, many investors who have had their fingers burned before may decide to give them a wide berth.
Just ask anyone who bought the official TRUMP token, which has plunged 85% from all-time highs set just over two months ago… or someone who bought an NFT depicting the president as a superhero and a cowboy.
Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are the writer’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of Cryptonews.com. This article is meant to provide a broad perspective on its topic and should not be taken as professional advice.