In 2021, Donald Trump explored some facts related to crypto. Now it proves that these facts are accurate. He had warned at that time that the value of crypto is not stable because this is not real money.
According to him, bitcoin is a potential scam that could result in many complexities. After this prediction, less than a year passed when the crypto market crashed dramatically. Many investors faced huge losses overnight just because digital tokens lost their value. Many crypto coins prices drop sharply. Regulators had been too lenient, failing to prevent these issues.
In December of that year, a major figure in crypto, SBF, was arrested for fraud and conspiracy and later received a 25-year prison sentence.
Trump also had two stances about cryptocurrency. At one time he was strongly against this digital currency and also at other times he supported it. Previously, he openly criticized it and prevented investors from investing in it. But when the crypto market improved his opinion shifted and now he seems quite supportive.
Last month, Trump declared he would defend cryptocurrency from what he claimed were Joe Biden’s efforts to eliminate it. He also mentioned that people have the right to manage their own crypto assets. However, this announcement is also very unusual for him. He also gave assurance to many crypto owners that he would prevent Elizabeth Warren and her followers from interfering with their bitcoin.
This changing stance of Trump clearly highlights that he may have had discussions with the crypto industry. A few weeks ago, he hosted bitcoin miners and industry leaders at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and home. The CEO of BTC Inc, who was at the meeting, told CNBC that the industry plans to raise over $100 million and mobilize more than 5 million voters for Trump’s re-election campaign. It’s clear why Trump might find their support very persuasive.
It is very common in politics to use money in order to influence others. Recently the defeat of Congressman Jamaal Bowman also took the hope of many people. It is for the first time in history that a person belonging to Democratic party lost the election campaign. He is the one that is against the Israeli government and also opposes crypto-friendly bills. His opponent Tyler Winklevoss, also runs the crypto exchange posted on different social media platforms that politicians should learn not to mess with the crypto community.
Recently the Trump’s campaign got donations from Winklevoss twins. The amount of the donations was about $1 million. However, some money returned back because of donation limits. They called Trump the “pro-crypto” candidate. They also gave $4.9 million to a pro-crypto group called “Fairshake,” which has raised over $177 million, making it the second largest fundraising group after the “Make America Great Again” group.
Fairshake spent over $2 million on ads against Bowman in the New York primary. Other big crypto companies like Ripple, Coinbase, and Andreessen Horowitz also donated millions to Fairshake. Their goal was to protect their interests from politicians like Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is against cryptocurrency.
It is very interesting to note that Fairshake along with its partners poured a huge amount into advertising for the primaries. The amount was approximately $37 million. This information is reported by AdImpact.
Their support seems effective since many of the candidates who favor cryptocurrencies and receive their backing have emerged victorious in their House and Senate races.
The crypto lobby’s growing influence is a big worry. They often don’t stand up for regular American crypto investors. Instead, regulators target big crypto companies whose founders have made huge profits from these small investors. This focus shows a big gap in how different parts of the industry are treated.
The crypto lobby’s political ties also seem one-sided. Claiming that bitcoin executives could swing an election by delivering 5 million votes to Trump sounds hard to believe, even for Trump himself.
