Trump and the Crypto Bros
The article was originally published on Daily Kos.
By Alan Singer
Since Donald Trump declared he was running for President in 2024, he has hawked silver coins with his image, Trump Bibles and gold high-top sneakers, digital trading cards, diamond-encrusted Trump watches, and his own cryptocurrency, World Liberty Financial. He has also sold stock in a media company that has no assets other than the Trump brand. Sometimes it is unclear whether Trump’s goal is to get elected President or to enhance his fortune at the expense of his supporters, many of whom live on the economic margins.
When he announced his new cryptocurrency venture, Trump declared his goal was to turn the United States into “the crypto capital of the world.” His partners in this project are Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, serial entrepreneurs with a history of lawsuits and unpaid debt and taxes from their 17 offshore companies. Herro also has a criminal history. In the past, Trump called cryptocurrency a “scam” that was “highly volatile and based on thin air” and the F.B.I. blames it for fraud that cost Americans billions of dollars in 2023 alone. John Reed Stark, a former senior official with the Securities and Exchange Commission, describes cryptocurrency as “a bunch of nonsense, and a terrible opportunity for investors,” that hasn’t stopped the Trump family from promoting it. Trump’s son Don Jr. calls Herro and Folkman financial revolutionaries.
According to an August report from Public Citizen, “The crypto industry accounts for almost half the money contributed by corporations to political action committees so far in 2024.” Cryptocurrency Super PACs put together a war chest of over $100 million to influence 2024 Congressional elections. The Washington Post reported that in Ohio, the industry spent over $38 million supporting the Republican candidate against the incumbent Democrat.
Fairshake, the crypto industry’s main Super Pac, was responsible for almost half the $250 million corporations distributed to political action committees. Big contributors to Fairshake are Coinbase, the largest United States crypto exchange, and Ripple, that promotes a stablecoin called XRP. Coinbase and Ripple are the leading companies fighting against federal regulation of cryptocurrency. Its campaign donations go to both Republicans and Democrats who are seen as crypto friendly. The crypto industry often runs ads against targeted candidates that never mention the digital currency the Super Pac is promoting.
Trump mega-supporter and multibillionaire opponent of government regulation Elon Musk is a big promoter of cryptocurrency and he and his corporate enterprises are invested in DOGE and Bitcoin. Other Trump cryptocurrency donors include Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of crypto exchange Gemini, who donated donated $1.6 million in bitcoin to the Trump campaign, Jesse Powell, co-founder of crypto exchange Kraken, who donated $845,000 in cryptocurrency, Stuart Alderoty of Ripple gave $300,00 in crypto tokens, and Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, who contributed $50,000 in bitcoin. He was also endorsed by crypto industry investors Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen, however Horowitz later switched his support to Kamala Harris, although he remained leery about her lack of past support for crypto.
Dr. Alan Singer is a social studies educator and historian in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Technology. He is a former New York City high school teacher and regularly blogs on about education, history, and political issues. Dr. Singer is a graduate of the City College of New York and has a PhD in American history from Rutgers University. He is the author or co-author of nine books including Social Studies for Secondary Schools, (5th Edition, Routledge, 2024), Teaching Global History, (2nd Edition, Routledge, 2020), Teaching Climate History (Routledge 2022), New York’s Grand Emancipation Jubilee (SUNY, 2018), and Class-Conscious Coal Miners (SUNY, 2024). As a Hofstra Professor, Dr. Singer mentors new teachers and student teachers and provides curriculum support to secondary schools in the New York metropolitan area. Blogs, tweets, essays, interviews, and e-blasts present his views and not those of Hofstra University.
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