Donald Trump and Bitcoin

• Donald Trump's stance on Bitcoin has shifted since 2021.

Bitcoin's Rise and Fall

• Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $67,500 in November 2021.
• The Federal Reserve raised interest rates at the end of 2021 and start of 2022 to curb inflation.
• Investors moved away from digital assets, leading to a decline in the cryptocurrency market.
• President Joe Biden's administration cracked down on digital assets.
• Bitcoin fell to $16,600 by January 2023, with trillions of dollars in losses in the crypto industry.
• By September 2023, transformation was driven by an individual playing by Washington's rules.

Brian Armstrong's Leadership

• Brian Armstrong, the 41-year-old founder and CEO of Coinbase, led the cryptocurrency industry.
• Armstrong helped the cryptocurrency industry survive, with Bitcoin reaching approximately $88,000 and expected to surpass $100,000.

Crypto Winter of 2022

• There were collapses and bankruptcies of crypto exchanges and companies in 2022.
• Trillions of dollars evaporated, and the value of cryptocurrencies plummeted, damaging the industry's reputation.
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Gary Gensler ("The Executioner"), cracked down on cryptocurrencies, causing disruptions.
• Digital asset investors lost over $2 trillion in cryptocurrencies in 2022.
• Celsius Network, with 1.7 million customers and over $10 billion in assets, halted withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy.
• Binance suspended withdrawals, and Luna and TerraUSD collapsed.
• FTX collapsed, leading to the arrest of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, for defrauding investors.

Armstrong's Strategic Shift

• Brian Armstrong analyzed market events and decided to think strategically to prevent future disasters.
• Armstrong's plan for the cryptocurrency industry is considered a historic turning point as he managed to sterr the industry to a posision of significant influence.
• Cryptocurrency prices surged after Donald Trump's re-election, with Bitcoin reaching $88,000.

Crypto Lobbying

• In September 2023, Armstrong began to push the U.S. government for favorable regulations.
• Armstrong emphasized that the cryptocurrency industry needed to increase its political contributions.
• Armstrong proposed a target of at least $50 million annually for contributions.
• Coinbase would donate to a crypto-focused political action committee (PAC) called Fairshake.
• The goal was to build a crypto lobbying group to elect pro-crypto candidates and defeat opponents.
• Crypto companies donated over $200 million to Fairshake PAC and its affiliates.
• Cryptocurrency industry became the highest-spending sector in U.S. politics.
• Fairshake distributed funds to congressional candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties.
• Fairshake targeted members of Congress like Katie Porter and Jamaal Bowman, who opposed cryptocurrencies.
• In Ohio, $40 million was spent to secure the victory of pro-crypto Republican Bernie Moreno.
• Fairshake helped elect 48 candidates from both parties, spending $135 million on their campaigns.
• The U.S. now has the most crypto-friendly Congress in history.
• Cryptocurrency lobbying groups are funded by industry giants like Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz.

Political Influence

• The amounts spent have made these groups the largest single-issue PACs in history.
• in terms of total expenditure, the crypto lobby now ranks second only to the fossil fuel industry.
• $25 million were spent to support Trump, by the Winklevoss twins and Jesse Powell.
• Trump promised to fire SEC head Gary Gensler and replace him with someone more crypto-friendly.
• Following Trump's success and the crypto industry's lobbying groups securing Congress, cryptocurrency prices skyrocketed, particularly Bitcoin.
• Projections indicate Bitcoin could surpass $100,000.
• From a new president who strongly supports Bitcoin, figures like Senator Tim Scott are ready to defend the crypto industry, paving the way for a historic shift in the crypto industry in the U.S. and globally.
• Shares of Armstrong's Coinbase skyrocketed by approximately 44% in the five days following Trump's victory.
• This added over $2 billion to Armstrong's personal wealth, bringing his total net worth to $14 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.