January round up

Wow. That kicked off with some fireworks.

Welcome to 2025 and our summary of what we’ve seen and published so far this month.

One of the high points must surely have been the appointment of a free-trade supporting industry professional to the head of the SEC. A man who has already been an SEC commissioner and knows how to create safe harbours. Let’s hope he gets talking to the FCA and that the UK can get in on the act and truly do what it’s said it will in its recent letter to the Prime Minister and help start-ups and crypto firms.

Whatever you think of him and his politics (and we are non-partisan), anyone who believes that crypto can build democracies and bring liberty to citizens has to applaud Trump’s crypto-friendly actions. Long may these continue and be adopted in other countries.

Certainly the market liked the action. Anyone who holds BTC will have been part of the prosperity bought by recent price moves. Today I’m thinking in particular of Roya Mahboob of Afghanistan. In 2013 she paid her female employees in BTC to stop male relatives seizing cash. Afghanistan is not the same country and the ability of women to leave the house, let alone work, is beyond any words I have, but the principle remains strong because the use of crypto for liberty is strong.

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