Vice President JD Vance said at the 2025 Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday that cryptocurrency "finally has advocates and allies in the White House," thanks tothe election of President Donald Trump。

The President and Vice President are both strong supporters of cryptocurrency—and holders. The Trump administration has moved quickly to attract cryptocurrency exchanges and related businesses, appointing industry-friendly officials to lead regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and promoting initiatives such as creating anational digital asset reserve.

Despite concerns raised by some about Trump's policies and thepotential conflicts of interestarising from his business interests in the industry, many hope that the new attention cryptocurrency is receiving will help it gain more space alongside traditional money—which requires establishing solid regulatory standards. Dan Chen, Chief Financial Officer of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust, said regulatory clarity is "truly foundational," not just for the crypto space but for businesses in any industry. The exchange, founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is a major cryptocurrency player.

"Regulatory clarity, simply put, means businesses can know what the rules are and how to stay compliant," Chen said in an interview with CFO Dive. "I think the model we're in now, where regulators invest time in developing clear, concise frameworks that allow businesses to operate, is crucial."

A new regulatory horizon

The cryptocurrency space has long been on the fringes of the mainstream financial system, and its lack of regulatory clarity has been accompanied by persistent ambiguity and uncertainty. Cryptocurrency exchanges and regulators have repeatedly clashed over how to properly define digital assets, widely accepted definitions of key terms (such as stablecoins—digital assets pegged to fiat currencies but lacking a broadly accepted regulatory definition), and ultimately which entity should be responsible for overseeing these assets and industry participants.

Among other initiatives praised by crypto advocates, the Trump administration has taken several steps to ease some tensions, such as establishing aworking group focused on stablecoins. According to NBC, Congress also recently passed the"Genius Act", which would create the first regulatory framework for stablecoins. Other regulators have also recently issued new guidance on crypto assets, such as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), whichrecently implemented new standardsrequiring companies to report crypto assets using fair value accounting.

"I believe many regulators in this space also prefer having clearer rules, because then they know what policies and procedures they need to enforce and follow," Chen said.

Like many exchanges, Gemini has clashed with the SEC in the past. For example, in 2023, regulators accused Gemini ofselling unregistered securitiesthrough its Earn program. In April of this year, according to Bloomberg, the exchange and the SEC asked a federal judge topause the ongoing litigationto seek a possible resolution.

Room for growth

For Gemini, the larger stage opening up in the crypto space also represents a growth opportunity, creating more room for the exchange to cultivate relationships with businesses and individuals who may have previously been cautious about using digital assets. According to Gemini's2025 Global State of Crypto Reportreleased earlier this week, one in four (24%) individuals globally now own cryptocurrency, up from one in five (21%) the previous year.

The exchange said this growth may be partly attributed to Trump's crypto policies, noting that its findings "suggest these policies are sparking interest in the industry among non-holders—those who have never invested in cryptocurrency," according to a press release. "Understanding and winning over this group will drive significant industry growth, which has seen relatively flat adoption over the past few years."

Chen said cryptocurrency still has "a lot of room for growth," noting that the total value of all cryptocurrencies is currently around$3 trillion, while the total value of U.S. stocks is around$60 trillion。

Amid the policy changes, many businesses are exploring new potential use cases for cryptocurrency—for example, payment companies PayPal, Mastercard, and Payoneer areexperimenting with stablecoins for cross-border payments, Payments Dive, a sister publication of CFO Dive, reported.

"There are so many use cases, many of which are not yet fully developed, but for me, this is clearly the platform for building in the future," Chen said of digital assets. "That's really the goal—you want to skate to where the puck is going, where the future will be built."

Chen specifically mentioned he is excited about Gemini's credit card business. The exchange, in partnership with Mastercard, offers acredit card productthat, according to its website, allows users to earn bitcoin on purchases.

Such a card appeals to those who are fully invested in cryptocurrency or digital assets, as well as those who are interested "but don't know when is the right time to invest," Chen said. "That's always a big hurdle."

It's a way for individuals to easily enter the space "without having to make a conscious decision to make a one-time large purchase at a particular moment," he said. "You might find the interface great, the exchange great, and it's a good tool to engage with Gemini. So for us, it's not just a side business. It's part of building an ecosystem of engagement."

Chen is an alumnus of "buy now, pay later" company Affirm, where he served as Vice President of Capital Markets and Banking Partnerships. According to CFO Dive, hejoined the crypto exchange as CFO in March, amid speculation that the exchange had confidentially filed for an initial public offering. According to his LinkedIn profile, Chen's past experience includes serving as CFO of financial services company Nearside (acquired by Plastiq in 2022) and working as Treasurer at Cross River Bank.

"For me, no matter where my career goes, it's very important to move toward industries with high growth, high opportunity, and high scalability, because frankly, that's more interesting," Chen said of his decision to join the Gemini exchange. When asked about a potential IPO, Chen declined to comment on "market speculation."

In his first few months as CFO of the exchange, Chen has been primarily in listening mode.

"I think one of the mistakes I made early in my career was going to a new place and saying, 'What was I good at before, and how quickly can I apply those skills in this new role?'" Chen said. "I've realized that sometimes it's like fitting a square peg into a round hole."