Here’s what you’ll find in today’s edition:

• An update on President Trump’s new Cabinet nominees.

• How Grayscale could shift its crypto ETF strategy as regulatory winds shift.

Latest Trump nominees have ties to crypto 

President Trump released a fresh batch of cabinet nominations late last week and among them are two names familiar to the crypto industry: Brian Quintenz and Jonathan Gould.

Quintenz is being tapped to run the CFTC and Gould is Trump’s pick for comptroller of the currency. Neither nomination hearing has been scheduled yet. 

Quintenz served under Trump as a CFTC commissioner from 2017 to 2021. Most recently he’s been the policy lead at a16z crypto. Republican Commissioner Caroline Pham, also seen as a crypto advocate, has led the agency since Trump’s inauguration. 

Quintenz mentioned crypto in a post on X last week thanking Trump for selecting him. 

“The agency is also well poised to ensure the USA leads the world in blockchain technology and innovation,” Quintez wrote. “I look forward to working with President Trump’s incredible financial regulatory team.”

“Looking forward to more SEC-CFTC cooperation,” SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce replied, adding that “this time” the agencies will focus on crypto. 

Gould most recently practiced at Jones Day, a law firm that has represented Trump’s campaign. He served at the OCC as chief legal officer during Trump’s first term. 

Prior to Jones Day, Gould had a brief stint as the chief legal officer of Bitfury, a crypto infrastructure company. 

The crypto industry is fired up for a few reasons. First, these are two major positions in the financial regulation space — a space that in recent years has taken a harsh approach to crypto. 

The OCC specifically supervises US banks, a sector of the financial industry many crypto companies have felt ignored by. These frustrations were brought to light during recent Congressional hearings unpacking so-called “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.” 

Much of the crypto industry has also recently advocated for Congress to give more power to the CFTC to oversee the crypto industry. With Republicans in control of both chambers, this could be the year a market structure bill makes it over the finish line. Plus, Peirce’s comments signal that the agencies are not looking to get involved in a turf war.

— Casey Wagner

With four weeks until DAS NYC, the institutional shift into crypto is accelerating. Fund managers are positioning. How are they thinking about ETFs, tokenization, and macro risk in this new market cycle?

At DAS NYC, you’ll hear directly from the firms building their strategies around this:

• Franklin Templeton on tokenization and the next phase of asset management.

• Morgan Stanley Investment Management on how institutions are positioning in emerging markets.

• Galaxy Digital on the investment landscape and how smart money is allocating.

Less than 20 VIP tickets left. Groups of 4-9 still save 15%.

DAS NYC is where the real conversations happen. If your team is in the game, this is where they need to be.

📅 March 18-20 | NYC

Grayscale Investments has historically had a four-stage lifecycle for its products. A recent Cardano ETF filing signals that could be changing as regulatory winds shift.

The company typically first goes with private placement launches for accredited investors (like the Dogecoin Trust it launched a couple weeks ago).

Step two is obtaining public quotations for unrestricted shares of those private placements.

Grayscale then makes its products SEC-reporting companies, subjecting them to more disclosure and regulatory oversight. 

Finally, the company looks to uplist its products to an ETF when the regulatory environment allows for it (think last year’s conversions of GBTC and ETHE).

“Given the environment is rapidly evolving before our eyes, there may now be a few shortcuts appearing,” said Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store.  

Indeed, Grayscale appears to be skipping these steps in its quest to launch an ETF holding cardano (ADA). See NYSE’s 19b-4 filing for listing the planned product here. 

Grayscale does not currently have a trust holding ADA. And so, the direct filing for an ETF could signal optimism the SEC “is now open for business” and could move quickly to approve more spot crypto funds beyond bitcoin and ether, Geraci said.

The firm did not return a request for comment. 

Various fund managers have live proposals for ETFs holding litecoin, solana, XRP and other crypto assets. We recently reported on the possible odds of those launching this year.

To Geraci’s point, Bryan Armour, a director of passive strategies research at Morningstar, said he expects Grayscale to file directly for ETFs if the firm expects approval. The private trust/OTC route only makes sense if funds holding those assets are deemed “unavailable” from a regulatory standpoint, he added.

Geraci doesn’t exactly agree on that second point. 

From a competition perspective, Geraci explained, he likes the idea of Grayscale bringing a private placement offering to market first (like it did with its latest DOGE Trust).

“It offers them the ability to get a head start on attracting assets prior to converting into an ETF,” he explained. “They can essentially front-run the competition.”

— Ben Strack