A 2024 Trump admin. could be more 'laissez-faire' on crypto

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) peaked above a record high on Tuesday, touching above $69,000 before sliding lower. SkyBridge Founder and Managing Partner Anthony Scaramucci told Yahoo Finance on Monday that President Biden's re-election would be beneficial for both markets and bitcoin.

IDX Advisors Chief Investment Officer Ben McMillan sits down with Yahoo Finance to talk about the stance Biden and Trump administrations may have on cryptocurrencies, as well as discussing the exposure spot bitcoin ETF offerings are giving to investors, particularly in their 401(k) plans.

"It was difficult to hold it in something like an IRA or a 401(k) plan. Now this is part of the mainstreaming of crypto. Now, this time is different — we can't just throw caution to the winds as it relates to the macro regime," McMillan says. "I think a big part of the rally continuing is going to be a function like any other risk asset, like tech stocks, for example. It's going to be a function to what degree the Fed [Federal Reserve] can engineer a 'soft landing.'"

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

Editor's note: This article was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

Video Transcript

BRAD SMITH: Let's get back to Bitcoin. And Bitcoin, at least, up against some of the historical "Yahoo Finance" data, may have just hit a new all-time high here. We're going to continue to track this as we move on throughout the rest of the day.

Some investors looking ahead to the presidential elections, wondering if it'll be a tailwind or a headwind for the cryptocurrencies. We're joined by-- we were joined by rather Anthony Scaramucci, SkyBridge founder and managing partner, who offered his opinion on the matter. Take a listen.

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI: Specifically, for Bitcoin, I think, macro, yes, because whether you like Mr. Biden or dislike him, he's for the rule of law. And he's for the democratic processes of the United States.

BRAD SMITH: Let's bring in Ben McMillan, who is the IDX advisor, chief investment officer, to discuss more here. Ben, great to have you here with us. You heard there from Scaramucci, who he believes is better for crypto. Who do you believe of the candidates is better for crypto, especially as we stare down November after today?

BEN MCMILLAN: Yeah. I think at the presidential level, honestly, it's going to matter a lot less than the Super Tuesday primaries that we're seeing play out at the state level. That's where crypto policy has really been the forefront of the battlefield.

That said, I think, depending on who you ask, you'll get different answers. I think, generally, the crypto community probably sees a Trump administration being a little bit more laissez faire, not necessarily targeting crypto like, a lot of Democrats did in Congress.

But on the flip side of that, you've got Biden with the infrastructure bill, which put a lot of liquidity in the system to the extent that a Biden regime continues to ramp up spending. That could, obviously, be favorable too. But I think if you ask-- if you survey most of the crypto industry, they'll probably say that a Trump administration would be a little bit more laissez faire and allow crypto to flourish a little bit more easily.

SEANA SMITH: Ben, I'm curious what you make of the crypto excitement that we're seeing play out right now. You have Bitcoin just below $69,000. Is it different than what we've seen in past run ups in Bitcoin? And if so, why?

BEN MCMILLAN: Yeah. It is different for the very simple reason that now, we've got ETFs. This has been a long time coming. And this is something that groups like us have been talking about for a couple of years now, is once you've got-- once you have the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETFs, now, all of a sudden, it becomes normal for a lot of investors out there, a lot of advisors-- we're going to start seeing Bitcoin allocations pop up in all sorts of financial advisors model portfolios, as they make plans. Now, all of a sudden, Bitcoin is an easy asset class for them to put into these portfolios.

So we'll start seeing it pop up in 401(k) plans. And so this is important, because this onboards a whole swath of an audience that, otherwise, probably never would have really touched crypto. If you go back to midterms a couple of years ago, it was still largely the domain of Coinbase-- buyers and sellers on Coinbase. It was difficult to hold it in something like an IRA or a 401(k) plan. And now, this is part of the mainstreaming of crypto.

So this time is different. Now, that said, we can't just throw caution to the winds as it relates to the macro regime. I think a big part of the rally continuing is going to be a function like any other risk asset like tech stocks, for example, is going to be a function of, to what degree, the Fed can engineer a quote unquote, "soft landing."

It's looking increasingly favorable. But there are some clouds on the horizon that plenty of others have talked about, as it relates to things like the coming real estate debt refinancing. That could be a catalyst for a credit event, et cetera.

So there's two things there. Like I said Bitcoin-- the approval of Bitcoin ETFs is a structural tailwind that I think we're going to see the benefits of for years. But that doesn't mean it's not going to continue to be a volatile ride. And I think in the near term, what is the macro picture look like?