On September 20, according to the Financial Times, Charles Hoskinson, former Ethereum co-founder and Cardano founder, warned that the new digital asset platform promoted by Donald Trump and his sons could “scare” the industry. Hoskinson stated, “Trump is launching a DeFi app, and that’s terrifying for my industry because everything Trump does is met with intense opposition from the left. He’s turned things that were bipartisan into partisan fights.”

Hoskinson stated that Democrats “will try to weaponize American institutions to slow down and damage Trump. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Department of Justice, the IRS, or the SEC investigated the new platform. Then the whole industry would be impacted and there would be a lot of problems.”

Hoskinson doubts whether either presidential candidate would foster a strong cryptocurrency industry in the US. Hoskinson stated, “I don’t think the discussion of crypto from either Trump or Harris has reached that level of quality and sophistication.” He said that if Trump wins in November, he might find it difficult to fulfill his promises to support crypto policies. Hoskinson stated that the high turnover rate of staff in the Trump administration makes it difficult for him to recruit the right people to develop the industry. He added that Harris “appears to be a continuation of Biden’s disastrous policies on crypto.”

Hoskinson stated that if the US passes legislation that creates clarity for the cryptocurrency market and “stops prosecuting companies and shutting down bank accounts,” the US could potentially have “$5 to $10 trillion worth of crypto” in the next 10 years. He added that he is more optimistic about the legislative branch of the US policymaking process and said he has had productive conversations with Republican Senators Tim Scott and Cynthia Lummis and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden.