Treasury Secretary predicts historic merger could make 2026 a ‘very good year’

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent thinks that when the world looks back at the current Donald Trump administration 50 years later, it will realize that this administration saved or created the idea that everyone has a stake in the market.

Bessent, in particular, hailed the Trump accounts, which he thinks would give every American child a stake in the financial system and at least one major crypto-focused S&P 500 company has decided to join in.

The Trump accounts program is part of the Working Families Tax Cuts (Section 70204) provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4.

These accounts involve a pilot contribution of $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury for American children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028.

Robinhood Markets (Nasdaq: HOOD), the e-trading platform offering cryptocurrencies and tokenized stocks, has committed to matching the Treasury contribution of $1,000 to Trump Accounts for eligible children of its employees.

Related: Treasury Chief Bessent reverses stance, says U.S. will buy Bitcoin

Bessent recently joined hosts David Friedberg, Jason Calacanis, and Chamath Palihapitiya on the All-In Podcast in which he framed Trump accounts as:

“The biggest merger in history because it is merging Main Street and Wall Street.”

The initiative would expand general participation in financial markets so that more Americans have a direct stake in capitalism, he said.

Currently, Bessent noted, roughly 38% of Americans don’t own equities, either directly or through retirement accounts like 401(K)s.

Notably, the Trump administration is trying to open up the retirement market to crypto assets. In August, Trump signed an executive order to make it easier for Americans to use their retirement savings to invest in alternative assets like cryptocurrencies.

Regarding the Trump accounts, Bessent said the policy could reshape how younger generations view the economic system. Early market participation could strengthen Americans’ confidence in capitalism, he added.

Bessent acknowledged that many Americans on Main Street remain dissatisfied with the administration on inflation and broader economic conditions but said the Trump administration inherited the “mess” from the Joe Biden administration.

But 2026 is going to be a “very good year for the American people, for Main Street,” he said.

The long-standing divide between Main Street and Wall Street is going to end as Trump accounts would allow the average Joe on Main Street a stake in Wall Street, Bessent reiterated.

But Main Street should be prepared to potentially gain indirect exposure to digital assets as several Wall Street firms are invested in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

And this isn’t a Trump administration phenomenon.

Under the Biden administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year allowed Wall Street to offer exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to cryptocurrencies.

Lo and behold, leading institutional giants like BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and Franklin Templeton, whose parent company Franklin Templeton (NYSE: BEN) is public, jumped in.

January 2024 saw the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs and July 2024 saw the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs.

So far, Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated $57 billion in cumulative inflow and Ether ETFs have accumulated $12 billion, as per the onchain analytics platform SoSoValue.

In fact, BlackRock called iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), its Bitcoin ETF, one of the top three investment themes for 2025.

It’s a remarkable admission from the world’s largest asset manager, given the fact that BTC has crashed more than 30% since peaking north of $126,000 in early October.

Other Wall Street institutions aren’t far behind.

Reportedly, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, is considering launching crypto trading services for institutional clients.

As reported earlier, Morgan Stanley is preparing to offer crypto trading to E-Trade clients in 2026.

“Offering clients the ability to trade crypto is the tip of the iceberg,” said Jed Finn, Morgan Stanley’s head of wealth management.

The crypto embrace from these giants marks a major reversal from the skepticism expressed previously.

However, not every traditionalist is so keen to embrace crypto amid the ongoing crash.

MSCI (formerly Morgan Stanley Capital International), a global provider of stock market indices, is considering excluding public companies whose digital-asset holdings exceed 50% of their total assets from the MSCI USA Index.

Michael Saylor-led Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR), the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury, could become the first casualty.

Other indices could also follow suit.

So, Main Street, if it merges with Wall Street, gains exposure to all the ups and downs of the crypto market.

Related: MSCI delisting could trigger crypto sell-off worth billions

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Dec 25, 2025, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.