Donald Trump, Crypto Bro

Donald Trump’s views of the cryptocurrency industry have shifted markedly in recognition of the emergence of this sector as a major player in the world of campaign finance.

In 2021, Trump was an outspoken critic of digital currencies, telling Newsmax, “I’m not a fan of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air.”

That same year, Trump told Fox Business that crypto was a “disaster waiting to happen” and that the United States should “regulate very, very high.”

This year, he has done an about face. At a June 27 Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Trump told attendees that if he is elected again to the presidency, he would make the United States “the crypto capital of the planet.” He also promised to fire government regulators who have been critical of the industry.

The 2024 Republican Platform, carefully worded by Trump operatives, declares:

Crypto companies — and the venture capitalists heavily invested in them — have returned the favor, not only throwing their support to Trump but helping Trump and the Republican Party to crack open a Democratic bastion, the high-tech industry.

A story from April on Puck, “All-In For Trump,” reflects the changed political environment:

William D. Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute, replied by email to my question about the evolution of Silicon Valley’s support for Trump:

An example of what Hartung describes is “The Little Tech Agenda,” a paper released in July 2024 by two Trump supporters, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, founders of Andreessen/Horowitz (also known as a16z), a venture capital firm that has “$43 billion in committed capital across multiple funds.”