Getty
While it’s easy to see why the election result sent the share prices for Elon Musk’s Tesla rocketing, you might be left wondering why it drove up the value of Bitcoin too. The truth is that many cryptobros are drawn to Trump, and now hope to influence his administration.
With the news that the Republican candidate had won the election, cryptocurrency markets rejoiced. Bitcoin jumped to an all time high. Dogecoin – a cryptocurrency that Musk is particularly keen on – went up by over a quarter.
On the face of it, this all might seem like nothing – yet another fluctuation in the notoriously fickle cryptocurrency markets.
But that would ignore the links between Trump and the cryptocurrency community. Earlier this year, he even promised to create a “strategic national bitcoin reserve” in the mould of the US gold reserve.
And with Elon Musk set to join the new administration, the cryptobros now have one of their own in power.
The world’s richest man is expected to be appointed as head of the proposed ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ – or ‘Doge’ for short.
It is a deliberate nod to his favourite cryptocurrency. Though it started life as an internet joke, the SpaceX owner’s tweets in support of the ‘memecoin’ made sure that it was here to stay. He has been a key backer of the currency ever since.
It’s no wonder then that some have wondered how cryptobros might end up influencing the White House.
“Congratulations to our new co-presidents, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel,” tweeted journalist Mehdi Hassan after the result became clear.
Unlike Musk, the founder of Paypal might not be a household name. But he is influential amongst Trump-supporting tech entrepreneurs.
For many libertarian tech types like Theil, the appeal of cryptocurrency lies in its freedom from Government influence. The development of Bitcoin brought into question the state’s traditional control over the money supply.
It is this ‘slash and burn’ mentality that Musk, whose Department will be in charge of huge cuts to the US Government’s budget, might well bring to the White House.
Because, in Silicon Valley, disruption is everything. And with Trump being the ultimate ‘disrupter’ to the political status quo, it’s no surprise that cryprobros swung behind him.
