Crypto Industry Must Make Progress Before Trump Leaves Office: Co-Founder of Etherealize

Donald Trump has been branded as a pro-crypto presidentthanks to his government’s approval of crypto legislation. However, some industry observers say his personal stake in crypto’s future — through companies the Trump family has backed — has hampered progress, and threatens to spark further backlash once he leaves office.

Danny Ryan, co-founder of an institutional marketing agency Etherealize and a former Ethereum developer, told Declutter recently that this threat of retaliation from a new administration is the reason the industry needs to make as much progress as possible before Trump leaves office.

“If we significantly engage financial institutions, global capital and capital markets during this period, it won’t be this binary conversation of: Should it exist? Shouldn’t it?” Ryan explained. “We can get into a position where we can demonstrate the fundamental value to the world. It will be critical infrastructure.”

If the next administration does want to target the crypto industry at that point, Ryan hopes it will no longer be about whether crypto should exist, but rather how it should be used responsibly as a “tool.” But to do this, the industry must act quickly during this period of opportunity.

“Maybe we can depoliticize it a little bit. Maybe we can show that it is a useful and valuable tool,” Ryan said. Declutter during the ETH Capital Summit in Argentina. “Not just so deeply embedded that they can’t pull it out. Maybe that’s how it is [like] the internet. It’s like: yes, we’re not abolishing the internet, we’re relying on it.”

The signing in July of the GENIUS Act into law was a milestone for the crypto industry, as the legislation created a legal framework for the issuance of stablecoins.

However, the path to the passage was rocky because of fury among Democrats over Trump’s alleged conflicts of interest — so much so House Democrats walked out of a digital asset-focused hearing in protest, in an effort to get language into the GENIUS Act that would prevent Trump from pursuing personal crypto ventures while in office.

President Trump issued an officially licensed meme coin just days before he was inaugurated in January. His wife, First Lady Melania Trump, also followed two days later. Trump later organized a dinner for the top holders of its meme coin, which picked up demonstrators outside, while senators called it a “orgy of corruption.”

Likewise, President Trump and his three sons were co-founders World freedom financialwhich has issued a dollar-pegged stablecoin and is expected to roll out more crypto products. Erik Trump confirmed in October that his family had already profited more than $1 billion from crypto companies.

The political turmoil resulting from these ventures has bubbled up during Etherealize’s efforts to help push through crypto regulations. When Vivek Raman, co-founder and CEO of Etherealize, testified for Congress for the CLARITY Actthe company noted that not everyone was focused on this issue – Democrats were more likely to be concerned about Trump’s conflicts of interest.

“I think [the perceived conflicts do] I’m not helping the case any further,” Ryan said Declutter. “It was palpable. Some Democrats asked interesting and valuable questions during this testimony. Most of them generally did not. Even those who did were clearly timid, as they were heading into a fraught political event.”

Being aware of this tension is why Ryan joined Etherealize. He explained that after being served by the SEC while still working at the Ethereum Foundation, he considered quitting crypto.

However, when he saw Trump launch a meme coin, he noticed that the pendulum had swung hard in crypto’s favor and he wanted to dedicate himself to making the most of it. Etherealize is a company that wants to help traditional financial institutions enter the world of crypto.

That said, he is aware that the post-Trump administration may want to throw the book at the former president and his signature moves, meaning the crypto industry could become collateral damage. Ryan hopes that the industry has proven itself so valuable that not all progress will be lost in the event of a possible change in the coming tides.

“They could try to reshape it, but it will be a lot more like cutting out some of the edges rather than making the whole thing disappear,” Ryan said. Declutter. “But the political atmosphere is damn wild. I can’t claim to predict the future.”