Snoop Dogg was the lead act at the first-ever cryptocurrency inaugural ball in Washington on Friday night.
mackenzie sigaros
As the crypto industry celebrates the arrival of a new administration in Washington, D.C., no one is taking advantage of the upcoming changes faster than President Donald J. Trump, who is leading the charge.
Crypto A-listers rubbed elbows with political elites and members of Trump’s inner circle Friday night at the Crypto Ball, held at the plush Mellon Auditorium just down the street from the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump’s net worth was about to explode from assets that didn’t exist before. On the night of the party, the next president launched $TRUMP, a meme coin built on the Solana platform. Market capitalization rose over the weekend Past $14 billion. Like other meme coins, there is no underlying product. In a social media post, President Trump told his followers: “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for. Victory!”
of Website According to for $TRUMP, 80% of the coin is held by the Trump Organization and its affiliates.
Among Cryptoball were some of the leaders of the platform that allows retail investors to participate in Trump’s latest projects. They included coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell.
President Trump is not just a one-time token.
On Sunday, $MELANIA, named after the first lady, was unveiled. The coin quickly soared more than 40% to a value of over $2 billion. Both Trump and Melania coins have fallen significantly from their highs.
Then there was World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance project endorsed by the Trump family, which raised its token price from 1.5 cents to 5 cents and released an additional 5 billion tokens for sale. The project was first launched in September and has raised more than $300 million in total sales to date. According to blockchain company Arkham Intelligence.
According to the project’s founding documents, 75% of World Liberty’s crypto revenue comes from the Trump family. On-chain data shows transfers of millions of dollars worth of tokens to Coinbase’s institutional custodian provider.
World Liberty said in a statement that it “regularly moves its crypto holdings as part of its regular financial management, payment of fees and expenses, and to address working capital requirements.” .
CNBC reached out to Donald Trump and Melania Trump early Monday but did not receive a response.
“Reign of Terror”
Within 48 hours, the Trump family’s net worth soared by billions of dollars based on their holdings in the just-launched digital asset, citing the unregulated nature of cryptocurrencies and their newfound ties to fame, power, and the U.S. It highlighted the president’s ability to leverage partnerships. A nascent industry that would enrich himself, his family, and his allies at the flip of a switch.
Broad market enthusiasm is reflected in prices. Bitcoinwhich hit an all-time high just hours before the inauguration, reaching nearly $110,000. Cryptocurrency industry leaders and investors emerged as Trump’s biggest supporters in the election campaign, aiming to influence future policy and ease restrictive regulations imposed during the Biden administration. In July, Trump gave a keynote speech at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
On Friday, digital asset entrepreneurs, politicians, and members of Trump’s inner circle hit the red carpet at the first-ever crypto inaugural ball in Washington.
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“The reign of terror over cryptocurrencies is over,” David Sachs, a prominent Silicon Valley investor and the new White House czar of AI and cryptocurrencies, told a packed DC Ballroom on Friday night. spoke. His comments drew applause that echoed beneath the towering columns of Mellon Auditorium.
Sachs has long criticized President Trump, saying the events of January 6, 2021 “disqualified” him from being a national candidate, but he supported Trump last year. He hosted a major fundraiser at his San Francisco mansion in June and regularly promoted Republican candidates on his popular podcast “All In.”
“Cryptocurrency innovation in the United States is just beginning,” Sachs added on Friday.
There was a lot of conversation on X (formerly Twitter) about the new $TRUMP coin. There was a lot of skepticism from both inside and outside the industry.
“Trump needs to fire crypto advisors from top to bottom and replace them with people who know what they’re doing,” said Gabor Gurbax, founder of digital asset firm Pointville. Yes,” he wrote. in post “Memecoins have brought tremendous confidence to the United States, the president, and his family, but the impact has not yet begun.”
Mark Cuban, billionaire former tech entrepreneur and co-owner of the Dallas Mavericks, commented on the apparent lawlessness of it all. Cuban, a longtime independent who has become a vocal supporter of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, said the coin is particularly harmful to the crypto industry as it seeks to legitimize the industry.
“Hello, this is a scam targeting everyone who has no knowledge about cryptocurrencies,” he said. I wrote.
But at the pre-inauguration party, President Trump’s new coin wasn’t much of a talking point. Rather, the conversation centered on the broader impact of President Trump’s policies under the Biden administration, which promised to break up years of regulatory logjam.
“Two years ago, everyone thought crypto was dead,” said one participant, who requested anonymity to speak candidly on the subject. “A year ago we were asking for help, and this weekend we’re on top of the world.”
Cryptocurrency companies showed their enthusiasm by donating large sums of money to President Trump’s inaugural fund. Ripple donated $5 million in digital tokens, while Coinbase, Kraken, and Circle each donated $1 million. online stock trading robin hood Donated $2 million.
Inside the first-ever Crypto Ball held at Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
mackenzie sigaros
Coinbase and Kraken are both in court battles with the SEC. Robinhood received a Wells notice related to its US crypto business in May. This is usually one of the final steps before the SEC files formal charges. Ripple has been in a long-running legal battle with the SEC and outgoing chairman Gary Gensler.
“The question now is what to do with this momentum,” said Stuart Alderroti, Ripple’s chief legal officer, who attended Friday night’s celebration. “How can we seize this momentum and move forward to actually realize the new administration’s promise to make the United States the crypto capital of the world?”
Alderoti hopes a coalition will be formed to discuss unification policy priorities.
“Ultimately, the policy owner is Congress, and we cannot dictate to Congress what the policy should be,” Alderoti said. “It would be great if we could get some alignment on priorities before we have the most crypto-friendly Congress ever,” Alderoti said, noting that the industry is divided by disagreements. did. The past in which proposals have been submitted.
Inside the crypto ball
There was a large amount of support from members of Congress at the party, all from the Republican side of the aisle. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was also in attendance, as well as Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Ted Cruz and Cynthia Lummis. Former Congressmen French Hill and Patrick McHenry arrived to show their support.
cleanse park CEO Zach Bradford, who has met with President Trump in a private roundtable to discuss bitcoin mining, said he also spoke with Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for secretary of commerce, at the same event. .
“We talked about Bitcoin mining and how it could become the center of commerce, not just Bitcoin,” Bradford told CNBC.
Bradford said he emphasized to Lutnick the potential for bitcoin mining to become a significant economic driver.
“From a net production standpoint, this is a positive revenue stream,” Bradford said. “But we also contribute significant tax revenue to the states in which we operate.”
Bradford described Lutnick as a “bitcoin guy” and said he was “excited about it.”
Scott Bessent, likely to become the next Secretary of the Treasury, walked through the main floor of the ballroom and posed for photos with attendees.
Ko Harada, chief operating officer of privacy-focused blockchain Aleo, said Bessent was “pretty shy about things, but the fact that he was there was very interesting.” Ta.
Aleo, which has raised more than $200 million from investors including SoftBank and Andreessen Horowitz, is setting up in the U.S. at a time when many rivals are choosing to launch from offshore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands, citing various regulations. selected.
“We didn’t open a store in the United States on a whim,” Harada said. After talking with legal and compliance experts, the company realized that “America is the best fertilizer for technology,” he said.
Aleo combines privacy-focused features with smart contract capabilities. Harada added that it has become a go-to resource for other startups looking to return to the United States. The company chose Wyoming, a state known for its crypto-friendly policies.
“Wyoming stood out as the most crypto-friendly state,” Harada said. “They have advanced policies and even established a blockchain research center at the University of Wyoming.”
The most important exchange of the night unfolded during a chat in the green room of the MAGA Inc. VIP reception.
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Also participating on Friday were: micro strategy Founder Michael Saylor wears his trademark orange bow tie, a nod to Bitcoin’s iconic color. Top executives from Coinbase, including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Global Head of Policy Fariyah Shirzad, interacted with guests.
The Winklevoss twins chatted with a group that included Andreessen Horowitz’s Chris Dixon and colleague Sriram Krishnan, who recently left his post as general partner at the firm to join Sachs’ task force. Beau Hines, President Trump’s pick to lead the President’s Council of Advisors on Digital Assets, also attended. He will report directly to Sachs.
While Snoop Dogg performed in the main ballroom, venture capitalist Katie Horn was deep in conversation with Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz. Other musical guests were Rick Ross and Soulja Boy. charged by the SEC In 2023, he continued to entertain large audiences when he was charged with illegally promoting crypto tokens without disclosing that he had received compensation.
Guests were issued wristbands depending on their status. A black wristband meant general admission, and a gold wristband granted entry to the VIP balcony. The white band was given the most special privileges. General admission was $2,500, and some sponsors paid $1 million for access to the first-floor dressing room behind the stage in the main ballroom.
Under close guard, Donald Trump Jr. wore a custom-made MAGA button on his shirt and quickly entered the back room of the VIP section. This room is barricaded with rotating bodyguards, and only certain guests can enter. Sachs and House Speaker Johnson were seen speaking with mining company CEO Fred Thiel. MARA Holdings.
Thiel shared details with Johnson about a blockchain initiative his company launched earlier in the day. This is an initiative designed to represent the intersection of cryptocurrencies and politics.
“We minted a block on the blockchain containing a portrait of President Trump that was created entirely from transactions,” Thiel said.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Mara CEO Fred Thiel. Earlier in the day, Johnson was seen texting President Donald Trump a photo of Trump’s 47 Bitcoin blocks minted by Mara.
fred thiel
The so-called Trump47 block embedded President Trump’s mugshot into the Bitcoin blockchain, creating a permanent digital tribute to the president.
“We released it on Friday morning and it went viral,” Thiel said. He added that Prime Minister Johnson was “so impressed” that he texted the photo to President Trump.
Tracy Hoyos Lopez, a former California prosecutor and one of the people who turned Trump into a Bitcoin supporter, was also at the event.
“Stay out of cryptocurrencies,” Hoyos-Lopez, who helped organize the evening’s celebration, told CNBC during Snoop Dogg’s live set. “Our events are our symbols in the world.”
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