David Yaffe-Bellany

And he vowed to get rid of Gary Gensler, the kind of arch-villain of the crypto world.

And he vowed to get rid of Gary Gensler, the kind of arch-villain of the crypto world.

But his pivot on crypto, and it's really a transformation on crypto, crystallized this fall when Trump announced that he is starting his own crypto business, which he calls World Liberty Financial.

But his pivot on crypto, and it's really a transformation on crypto, crystallized this fall when Trump announced that he is starting his own crypto business, which he calls World Liberty Financial.

What is that? It's still pretty sketchy what World Liberty Financial actually is. But what Trump has said publicly is that it's going to be a crypto platform. It's going to enable people to do things like borrowing and lending with cryptocurrencies. And there's even a new digital currency associated with it called WLFI for World Liberty Financial. And it's available for purchase.

What is that? It's still pretty sketchy what World Liberty Financial actually is. But what Trump has said publicly is that it's going to be a crypto platform. It's going to enable people to do things like borrowing and lending with cryptocurrencies. And there's even a new digital currency associated with it called WLFI for World Liberty Financial. And it's available for purchase.

You can think of it as the kind of technology equivalent of the Trump Hotel, the Trump Hotel on the blockchain. You know, it's a new avenue for people to get close to Trump, to kind of show their loyalty to Trump. And it poses as clear a conflict of interest as any in the kind of Trump business portfolio. And why did Trump change?

You can think of it as the kind of technology equivalent of the Trump Hotel, the Trump Hotel on the blockchain. You know, it's a new avenue for people to get close to Trump, to kind of show their loyalty to Trump. And it poses as clear a conflict of interest as any in the kind of Trump business portfolio. And why did Trump change?

So Trump himself has given a series of different explanations for it. But the one that he seems to mention most often is that his sons, including Barron, are really interested in crypto and that they're constantly in his ear about this exciting new technology and how important it is for the U.S. to embrace it. So that's the sort of official explanation.

So Trump himself has given a series of different explanations for it. But the one that he seems to mention most often is that his sons, including Barron, are really interested in crypto and that they're constantly in his ear about this exciting new technology and how important it is for the U.S. to embrace it. So that's the sort of official explanation.

But I think it's clear to anyone who's paying attention to the crypto industry that the sheer amount of money the industry was spending on politics got his attention. And that it also gave crypto executives a level of access to him that they'd never had before and an ability to try to change his mind. Hmm.

But I think it's clear to anyone who's paying attention to the crypto industry that the sheer amount of money the industry was spending on politics got his attention. And that it also gave crypto executives a level of access to him that they'd never had before and an ability to try to change his mind. Hmm.

You've got crypto executives donating millions of dollars to the Trump campaign, crypto companies inviting Trump to speak at their events, individual executives kind of courting people in Trump's orbit to try to get meetings with him. It becomes this sort of full court press and a kind of industry-wide embrace of the Trump candidacy.

You've got crypto executives donating millions of dollars to the Trump campaign, crypto companies inviting Trump to speak at their events, individual executives kind of courting people in Trump's orbit to try to get meetings with him. It becomes this sort of full court press and a kind of industry-wide embrace of the Trump candidacy.

Not only does Trump win, but the candidates that the crypto super PAC supported also overwhelmingly win. The vast majority of them win their races. In total, various crypto groups have proclaimed that hundreds of pro-crypto candidates across the Senate and the House were elected.

Not only does Trump win, but the candidates that the crypto super PAC supported also overwhelmingly win. The vast majority of them win their races. In total, various crypto groups have proclaimed that hundreds of pro-crypto candidates across the Senate and the House were elected.

So this is really a kind of astonishing political victory for the crypto industry, an industry that was kind of out in the political wilderness before the election. And it's these political victories that are the other main driver of the surge in Bitcoin's valuation that we've seen recently. The pro-crypto candidates won. They owe a debt of gratitude to the industry.

So this is really a kind of astonishing political victory for the crypto industry, an industry that was kind of out in the political wilderness before the election. And it's these political victories that are the other main driver of the surge in Bitcoin's valuation that we've seen recently. The pro-crypto candidates won. They owe a debt of gratitude to the industry.

And that sets the crypto industry up in an entirely new way in Washington, giving it just a whole new level of influence.

And that sets the crypto industry up in an entirely new way in Washington, giving it just a whole new level of influence.