The crypto industry found its champion in Donald Trump. Once a skeptic of blockchain, Trump embraced the sector after companies like Coinbase and Ripple donated tens of millions of dollars to elect pro-crypto candidates during the last election cycle. Trump began to adopt talking points rarely heard outside of Crypto Twitter, like calling for the end of “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” and the release of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht—a stunning reversal after referring to Bitcoin as a “scam” just a few years before.
It’s fair to say that, for most of the business world, the first few months of the Trump administration have not gone according to plan. After figures from Marc Andreessen to Bill Ackman declared that the new term would bring a golden age of economic activity, Trump’s insistence on enacting his sweeping tariff agenda has brought public stock offerings to a screeching halt. And not even FTC boogey-woman Lina Khan could have dreamed up such an effective pause to acquisitions.
