Variant Chief Legal Officer Jake Chervinsky said Washington has laid the foundation for a regulated crypto industry, but traders remain stuck with the short-term Memecoin pump.
“The true acceptance of the US government of Crypto as a core feature of the financial system and the internet” is happening, but “the market doesn’t seem to care,” he posted on X on February 7th.
After Donald Trump’s election victory in late 2024, the market won the “wildest dream” and earned a price on whether the code would take over America. Bitcoin and other altcoins were surged, and they were hoping for immediate changes in regulations.
But Cherbinsky describes reality as “slow and uncertain shattering” rather than overnight transformation.
“All pieces fall in place, so the cryptography will be built to allow the real product to mature into a basic, serious industry,” he added. “This will take a long time.”
Chervinsky points out that three major policy changes currently being formed under the Trump administration and the 119th Congress could change the crypto industry in the long term.
“To open Stablecoin regulations, Tradfi’s Floodgates and users pour dollars on-chain,” he said. “Clearance of securities. Builders can launch tokens that are not worthless memes” and “give reliability to market structures, trading venues.”
The long-standing question of which cryptocurrencies are eligible for securities has curtailed US innovation. Changing regulatory stances could reduce legal uncertainty and encourage more development and investment, Cherbinsky believes.
Cherbinski also pointed out the absurdity of Trump expecting a larger short-term catalyst than launching his own Memecoin.
“The literal US president has already launched Memocoin. Tell us anything that could reasonably happen in the bigger, near future. We’re waiting,” he said.
He argues that while retail investors chase speculative profits, Washington is tackling key long-term issues determining the location of crypto in the financial system.
“But today’s market doesn’t seem to care about crypto becoming a serious industry,” he added. “If you want to build something real, something like the SEC’s Cryptographic Task Force is very important. If you want a Memecoin pump, it’s probably not. The market now seems to prefer pumps.”