Coin Center notes that the Trump administration favors crypto but warns that ongoing cases may pose challenges for investors and developers.
Even though a Trump victory is generally good for the cryptocurrency sector, established regulations may still deter innovative tech companies from coming to the US, according to a warning from the nonprofit crypto advocacy group Coin Center.
Van Valkenburgh, research director at Coin Center, identified three “severe threats” to US cryptocurrency users and developers in 2025 in a blog post published on November 21.
The post examined the state of US crypto policy in the wake of the 2024 election.
The three dangers are collectively called “surveillance issues” and include anything from tax reporting and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations to the ongoing criminal cases against Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer, and Samourai Wallet, a Bitcoin wallet service.
Three “Severe” Dangers To Cryptocurrency
The first significant concern stems from the US tax code’s Section 6050I crypto reporting rules, which now oblige anyone who receives $10,000 in cryptocurrency to report it to the IRS without a warrant.
Coin Center claimed that these reporting requirements were illegal in August of last year.
The criminal accusations against the mixing service and Samourai Wallet for unauthorized money transmission are the second and third main dangers resulting from the sanctions imposed on Tornado Cash.
According to Coin Center, the accusations made against Roman Storm, the founder of Tornado Cash, may set a concerning precedent for those who create non-custodial cryptocurrency businesses.
“President Trump’s generally pro-crypto stance and his likely choices for appointees at the SEC and Treasury give reason to believe that controversial ongoing rulemakings will be frozen or even abandoned at the agency level.”
The incoming administration, according to Valkenburgh, might not be eager to relax “overzealous” sanctions and anti-money laundering regulations.
“The [Department of Justice] may change under a Trump administration, but it rightly guards its political independence and may therefore be unlikely to abandon these prosecutions because of a change in administration,” said Valkenburgh.
However, if it becomes more evident that harsh surveillance and control measures will still deter innovators from the US, stifle innovation, and prevent regular Americans from enjoying the advantages of these technologies even with a more lenient SEC, we remain optimistic that progress can be made in this area.
The continuous efforts to block access to crypto services, Valkenburgh continued, accomplish “very little to actually prevent criminals and terrorists” from using the tools.