Trump’s day 1 promises come due
With his inauguration days away, let’s review some of his vows regarding tariffs and SEC guidance
Anna Moneymaker / Shutterstock modified by Blockworks
This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.
President-elect Donald Trump has made a lot of promises for his first day in office, to the crypto industry and otherwise.
With his inauguration just days away, let’s review some of his vows:
Increase tariffs
Trump’s proposed tariff plans have made headlines for months. In late November, though, he made a new promise: a 10% increase on China, plus 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The latter two countries quickly signaled they were willing to negotiate.
Just this week Trump said that the “External Revenue Service,” a new agency that would be tasked with collecting tariff income, will be created on Monday. We at Forward Guidance are of the belief that tariff increases will happen at a much slower pace, though.
Commute Silk Road creator’s sentence
Trump in May pledged to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, who has been serving a double life sentence plus 40 years since 2015.
Ulbricht was convicted on seven federal counts including narcotics conspiracy and money laundering for his role in founding the Silk Road marketplace. Prosecutors also presented evidence during trial supporting allegations that Ulbricht had paid $730,000 in murder-for-hire fees, but he was not charged with this crime.
Overturn SAB 121
Trump reportedly plans to reverse the SEC’s controversial SAB 121 guidance, which states that crypto custodians should list custodied assets as liabilities on their balance sheet.
President Biden last year vetoed a bipartisan resolution that sought to do just this, arguing the legislation “would inappropriately constrain” the SEC.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- Blockworks Daily: Unpacking crypto and the markets.
- Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
- Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
- 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox.
- Lightspeed: All things Solana.
- The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
- Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.
