Trump picked Kelly Loeffler to lead the Small Business Administration (SBA). Loeffler is the former CEO of commodity and crypto trading platform Bakkt, which Trump's Truth Social media company has been in talks to purchase. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that "Kelly will bring her experience in business and Washington to reduce red tape, and unleash opportunity for our Small Businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive."

President-elect Trump tapped former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to chair the agency. Atkins is a crypto proponent and has called the lack of regulatory clarity around crypto a “fundamental underlying issue” that the SEC needs to address. Trump said in a post on Truth Social announcing the nomination that Atkins “recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.” The Digital Chamber and other crypto advocates celebrated the announcement, as Atkins is expected to steer the SEC as it embarks on what is expected to be a new deregulatory age.

House Republican leadership met to discuss SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s resignation announcement and the future of digital assets. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) argued that Gensler will “go down as the worst SEC Chair in the history of this country,” and said he looks forward to working with the incoming Trump Administration on digital asset policy.

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on how technology is shaping the future of finance. Several members discussed crypto, including Chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Reps. French Hill (R-AR), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Warren Davidson (R-OH), and Wiley Nickel (D-NC). Rep. Hill vowed to investigate alleged government efforts to cut off crypto businesses from the traditional banking system, and Chair McHenry advocated for FIT21.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) Plenary met to discuss the outlook for global financial stability and review policy work in several areas, including crypto assets and global stablecoins. The Plenary also discussed the FSB's work program for 2025, including advancing work on non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI), crypto, AI, cyber and operational resilience, cross-border payments, climate-related financial risks, and resolution.

German fintech firm 21X received regulatory approval from Germany’s financial supervisory authority, BaFin, to launch a blockchain-based trading system. According to a press release from 21X, the company "has become the first ever entity to receive a license to operate a blockchain-based trading and settlement system that is fully regulated in accordance with European Union (EU) law." The company plans to launch its exchange for tokenized financial instruments from its Frankfurt headquarters at the beginning of 2025.

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced that the Eurosystem has concluded a series of tests employing distributed ledger technology (DLT) for wholesale settlement in central bank money, processing over 200 transactions and a total value of €1.59 billion between May and November. According to the press release, 64 participants comprising central banks, financial market participants, and DLT operators completed over 40 trials and experiments, including actual settlement in central bank money.

President-elect Trump is reportedly considering Perianne Boring, founder and CEO of The Digital Chamber, to chair the CFTC. Other top contenders for the role include CFTC Commissioners Summer Mersinger and Caroline Pham. Former CFTC Commissioner Jill Sommers and former CFTC special counsel Neal Kumar are also in the running, according to Fox Business. Trump is expected to release his CFTC Chair nomination in the near future.

DOJ announced that Celsius founder and former CEO Alexander Mashinsky pled guilty to one count of commodities fraud and one count of securities fraud in connection with two fraudulent schemes at Celsius. Mashinsky told US District Judge John Koeltl that he lied when he told the public that the fallen $25 billion crypto lender's tokens were a safe investment. Judge Koeltl set an April 8 sentencing date. Mashinsky faces a theoretical maximum prison sentence of 30 years for the two counts to which he pled guilty.