The First Bitcoin President? Tracing Trump’s Crypto Connections

President Trump has surrounded himself with crypto enthusiasts. That’s no coincidence. In 2024 the cryptocurrency industry spent millions backing friendly congressional candidates, many of whom were Republicans, and many crypto execs endorsed Trump. Here, we’ve mapped the most crypto-crazed members of the president’s inner circle and the biggest donors to three pro-crypto super PACs: Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, and Protect Progress.

Crypto firms felt mistreated under the Democrats. Now, with a more sympathetic man in charge, the industry’s largest donors are seeking change. They want clear rules for their businesses and a say in which agency polices those rules. And they want Trump to deliver on his campaign promises to cement the US as the foremost bitcoin mining powerhouse and to create a national “bitcoin stockpile.” They hope Trump’s presidency will be a golden age for crypto. In December, when the price of one bitcoin vaulted beyond $100,000 for the first time, Trump posted online, “YOU’RE WELCOME!!!”