Over the years, cryptocurrencies have been regarded as weird and marginal investments by many, hyped by a bunch of math freaks and widely used by a variety of unpleasant characters, from drug dealers to hackers.

It is known for its amazing returns – and the spectacular crash: Two years ago, top crypto exchange FTX went bankrupt, blowing its CEO Sam Bankman in prison.

Now, under President Trump, a radical shift is taking place: From financial regulators to the halls of Congress to the Oval Office, the United States has completely embraced — and even promoted cryptocurrencies. This is a significant shift in the Biden administration.

Crypto companies are becoming big winners. One of the industry's top exchanges for Coinbase is joining the S&P 500 index, which tracks the largest trading company in the U.S. on Monday

“I think it’s a historic moment in the industry, and it’s a very special moment for Coinbase,” said Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer of the company. “It’s really exciting for us to have Coinbase as the first cryptocurrency company on the S&P 500 and (to be) in the midst of more and more people starting to watch how we operate (and) what we do.”

Who profits from the embrace of cryptocurrencies and loses who

President Trump himself will also benefit financially.

Shortly before the inauguration, he even launched his own meme coin, a crypto asset associated with internet memes and jokes. His family has also begun to act on the financial interests of cryptocurrency companies.

Cryptocurrency advocates welcome these developments, believing that the United States has finally embraced – and plays a global leadership role in promoting what they say will help define the future of the financial field.

But critics were shocked to warn that the U.S. is promoting an investment with incredible volatility that will ultimately harm the number of ordinary Americans, which could potentially constitute a financial crisis as the world experienced in 2008.

"History will show that it will be a disaster, it will be a disaster for the rest of the country, especially for Americans on American Street, who will be trapped in the cost of cleaning up after the next financial crash," Dennis Kelleher said.

However, whatever anyone believes, it is obvious: Trump has brought a new golden age to cryptocurrencies.

From Coinbase incorporating the S&P 500 to deep regulatory transition, these are three ways to understand what is happening in the crypto sector.

Trump administration is reshaping how the U.S. regulates cryptocurrency

Perhaps the most comprehensive change happened with the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose mission is to regulate the financial sector and protect investors.

Under former chairman Gary Gensler, the SEC actively follows the cryptocurrency sector and conducts litigation and enforcement, including targeting top crypto companies like Coinbase.

Gensler, who resigned early this year, called Crypto “Wild West.” and attempt to curb the industry, comparing it to the period before the Great Collapse of 1929 "Haxter" and "Fraudster" Before making federal laws regarding securities.

Although he tried to get companies like Coinbase to register with the institution and comply with regulations, his approach made him an enemy of the industry, although cryptocurrency company protests should not be seen as part of traditional Wall Street.

no longer.

The agency even started a significant turnaround before new SEC chief Paul Atkins Swearing in last month.

In one of the agency's biggest decisions, it dropped a lawsuit against Coinbase, which accused the company of trying to operate outside its authority. It reassigns its chief litigation lawyer to a new role in managing the IT system (the SEC did not respond to NPR's request for comment).

Crypto companies welcomed the changes, saying they were the readjustment needed for the Biden administration’s excessive handshake under the Biden administration.

Regulators such as the SEC and law enforcement personnel in the country may not necessarily give up overseeing cryptocurrencies altogether.

Just this month network Sentenced to 12 years Used for fraud and market manipulation.

However, these changes are devastating for consumers’ advocates. Corey Frayer, director of investor protection at the American Consumer Federation, said it was similar to making “cryptocurrency wild.”

For Frayer, who has been in the SEC for more than three years, this is also personal.

"It's frustrating to see three years of 65, 70 hours, and my team and I work to protect investors and make the industry legal," Freyer said. "It's surprising given the risks it poses to the traditional financial system."

Crypto companies like Coinbase are becoming big winners

When crypto exchange FTX crashed, many analysts at the time thought it would permanently destroy cryptocurrencies and validated critics’ warnings about the industry’s dangers.

Instead, something amazing happened: cryptocurrencies are legal.

By early 2024, Blackrock is one of the largest financial companies on Wall Street and the first Start an exchange-traded fund This tracks the price of Bitcoin, providing investors, including mom and pop music, with an easier way to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Super PACS spent on behalf of crypto companies More than $100 million Help elect lawmakers during the 2024 election cycle, who believe the cryptocurrency industry is more Congress-friendly.

Now, Coinbase will be part of the S&P 500 starting from the Trade Open on Monday, replacing Discover Financial Services, the service Getting By Capital One Financial.

"Add to the S&P 500 Coinbase means that cryptocurrency will stay here. It will be in everyone's 401k, and everyone is exposed indirectly through Coinbase," said Brian Armstrong, CEO of the company. During the interview With Yahoo Finance.

Trump hosts special dinner for investors in his meme coins

As cryptocurrencies become more mainstream, another person will benefit directly: President Trump himself.

The meme coins initiated by Trump have also sparked controversy, even within the cryptocurrency industry, which is a distraction that may undermine the credibility of the industry.

Although Trump has lost a large part of its value since its launch, President Trump announced that on Wednesday he will hold a special dinner for the top 220 holders of the top 220 meme coins this week, a three-week period that ended earlier this month, a period of time.

This sparked allegations that investors, including from abroad, were eager to buy Trump's currency to influence the president.

It goes beyond meme coins.

Members of the Trump family are here too. His son is involved in the reported cryptocurrency Explore financial transactions With major crypto companies and Foreign-supported entities.

Advocates say these have all the marks of the financial crisis

Ultimately, all the changes under President Trump have worried consumer advocates that it will end in a crisis similar to the global financial crisis in 2008.

According to crypto critics, there are similarities.

At that time, financial companies peddled complex financial investments with orchestrated names such as credit default swaps or mortgage debt obligations that few people understand and proved to be a house of cards that collapsed the global financial system and delayed them.

"You have these predatory instruments coming to the market. They are advertised as innovation. They are advertised as serving low-income communities or middle-class Americans. Ultimately, they exploded," said consumer advocates. “The companies that ask Americans for help, get bail or do well, everyone else holds bags.