Norm Champ On Trump’s Digital Finance Revolution, Crypto, Regulation & Financial Freedom
Regulatory Reform, Investor Freedom, and Rebuilding American Capitalism Take Center Stage
The America First Policy Institute hosted a compelling one-on-one interview with Norm Champ, Chair of AFPI’s Center for American Financial Freedom, to expose the dangers of regulatory overreach and lay out a vision for restoring financial opportunity in the United States. In conversation with Jenn Pellegrino, AFPI’s Senior Advisor and national media host, Champ reflected on the bureaucratic expansion of the federal government and made the case for liberty-based financial policy that puts investors, innovators, and workers first.
Key Speakers and Highlights
The conversation began with an overview of the alphabet soup of agencies—SEC, FDIC, IRS, FTC—that now regulate nearly every corner of the U.S. economy:
“The regulatory burden has doubled, the number of public companies has halved. We’re losing the American financial system to bureaucrats.”
— Norm Champ, Chair, Center for American Financial Freedom
Champ issued a clear warning: if left unchecked, administrative overreach will choke off capital formation, drive businesses overseas, and limit opportunities for everyday Americans to build wealth.
Norm Champ on Market Decline, the SEC, and the Future of Capital Formation
Drawing on his experience as Director of the Division of Investment Management at the SEC, Champ described how the very agencies meant to protect markets are now doing the most to damage them:
“From 8,000 public companies in the 1990s to just over 4,000 today—this isn’t market evolution. This is market suffocation.”
He emphasized the importance of bringing back market diversity, reducing regulatory risk, and allowing innovation to thrive in the U.S.—especially in emerging areas like digital assets:
“Crypto and blockchain are 21st-century tools. We shouldn’t be using 1940s regulations to govern them.”
Restoring Economic Freedom: From Overreach to Opportunity
Champ outlined a roadmap for reclaiming the promise of free enterprise. This includes rolling back harmful mandates, streamlining compliance burdens, and making clear, modern rules for everything from digital finance to retirement investing.
“We have to stop regulating by lawsuit and start regulating with clarity. Entrepreneurs need rules that make sense.”
He praised President Trump’s leadership in signing the Genius Act, and highlighted AFPI’s work in supporting the launch of Project Crypto—a landmark initiative to modernize financial regulation and make America the global hub of blockchain innovation.
Policy Wins and Forward Momentum
- Launch of AFPI’s Financial Freedom Initiative, exposing the cost of federal overregulation
- Advocacy to modernize the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rulebook
- Support for the Genius Act and Project Crypto
- Push for greater clarity in crypto markets and a return to capital formation as a priority
- Efforts to reverse the trend of fewer IPOs, less investor choice, and more centralized control
- Calls to rein in the administrative state and restore constitutional balance in economic regulation
The Verdict: A New Era for American Financial Liberty
As Champ stated in closing:
“If we want to revive American greatness, we need to unleash American capital. That means fewer bureaucrats, more builders, and a regulatory system that serves—not stifles—the people.”