U.S. can become crypto superpower with sensible regulation: Eric Trump

A set of “sensible” regulatory guidelines can help make the U.S. a cryptocurrency superpower, according to Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump organization and son of president-elect Donald Trump.

Speaking to CNBC’s Dan Murphy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Eric Trump said Monday that he’d been a “big fan of crypto for a long time” and his father intends to “make America the crypto capital of the world” on his return to the White House.

His comments come shortly after the price of bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, climbed above $100,000 for the first time.

The highly anticipated milestone was hailed as a landmark moment for digital assets, with investors increasingly confident the new U.S. administration will seek to cement the crypto industry’s place in financial markets.

Bitcoin, which is up a whopping 137% year-to-date, has since dipped back below the six-figure mark. The flagship digital currency was last seen trading at around $99,808.62, according to Coin Metrics.

“The modern banking system is antiquated. It’s just a matter of time before crypto not only catches up, but just really leaps ahead. And so, we’re incredibly excited on a lot of fronts,” Eric Trump said.

“I think America will be the crypto capital of the world. I fully support it. My father fully supports it. Our family, you know, is fully embracing it. We believe in DeFi … We believe that’s the way of the future. And again, America, you know, better lead the way, otherwise we’re going to leave a lot behind,” he added.

DeFi refers to decentralized finance, a system of applications that aim to recreate traditional financial instruments with cryptocurrency.

President-elect Donald Trump recently announced plans to nominate Paul Atkins as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The appointment could fulfill one of his core campaign promises to the crypto industry: to replace Gary Gensler, who has become something of a villain in crypto for the agency’s regulation-by-enforcement approach to the industry under his leadership.

Asked whether his father was considering regulatory or deregulatory measures in the crypto space — and what these policies could look like in practice, Eric Trump replied: “It looks like it’s transparent. That’s what it is.”

“The people in the crypto industry are frustrated that no-one’s ever put together a sensible plan as to how to regulate an industry. They’re fine with regulation, but they just want guidelines, and they’ve said that,” Eric Trump said.

“We will have a clear road map, and hopefully the rest of the world follows that. Hopefully we can lead by example, because that’s what we should do as Americans. And hopefully we truly are the crypto superpower of the world,” he added.

Eric Trump said Elon Musk would play a “big” role when it comes to setting the White House’s policy agenda moving forward, describing the billionaire technology leader as “the modern-day Albert Einstein.”

Alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, founder of pharmaceutical firm Roivant Sciences, Musk has been named by Donald Trump as co-leaders of an efficiency drive that is poised to make substantial cuts to government spending, pare back regulation and restructure agencies.

“I think we want to see efficiency. I think we want to see a productive society. I think we want to see real innovation again. I think we want to see government get the hell out of [the] way of great business. Let businesses thrive, let capitalism work, let the greatest democracy in the world do what it does,” Eric Trump said.

“Unfortunately, America hasn’t been that way in the last four years, and it’s going to return to that. But I think Elon is going to take a major role in making sure all of that happens,” he added.

— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.