Many in the crypto space greeted the second Trump Administration with excitement. The first Trump Administration was crypto-friendly, but did not wholly overturn the existing securities framework for crypto assets. The Biden Administration was more skeptical of crypto, with then- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler embracing the Howey test for securities. Crypto supporters thought 2025 might bring about the industry’s holy grail: a crypto-friendly regulatory framework allowing for crypto trading and offerings without the risk of civil (or criminal) inquiries down the line so long as the framework was followed.

2025 was certainly crypto-friendly. The President pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance,…