Crypto's Big Names and Their Cozy Ties to Trump

Crypto has become a big deal under Trump's leadership, with some major players seeing huge benefits. The industry now makes up a big chunk of the Trump Organization's wealth. But it's not just about money; these crypto leaders are also gaining political influence. Justin Sun, a Chinese entrepreneur and founder of Tron, has been a major player in Trump's crypto ventures. He invested heavily in Trump's meme coin and even attended a crypto dinner at Trump's golf course. Sun has also bragged about his close ties to the White House. Interestingly, an SEC lawsuit against him for manipulating crypto prices has been paused since Trump took office. Michael Saylor, the chairman of MicroStrategy, is a big name in the bitcoin world. His company holds a significant amount of bitcoin, and he's been a vocal supporter of the cryptocurrency. Saylor has met with Trump's son, Eric, and attended a White House crypto summit. Trump Media has even announced plans to raise money to buy bitcoin, similar to Saylor's strategy.Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, is the founder of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange. He was recently sentenced to prison but released after a few months. Now, he's looking to Trump for a pardon. Meanwhile, an investment fund in the UAE is using USD1, a stablecoin linked to Trump's venture, to buy a stake in Binance. Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, has been a key figure in the crypto industry's political push. He met with Trump after the election and attended the White House crypto summit. Coinbase even hired Trump's former campaign manager. Trump also addressed Coinbase's crypto summit via video. The Winklevoss twins, known for their role in the creation of Facebook, have also been active in the crypto world. They founded the Gemini exchange and have been supporters of Trump. They attended his crypto summit and praised his approach to the sector. However, some of their donations to Trump's campaign were returned due to federal limits. David Bailey, the CEO of BTC Inc. , has been a crypto adviser to Trump's campaign. He recently raised a significant amount of money to launch a bitcoin investment company. Vice President JD Vance praised Bailey at a crypto conference for his contributions to the bitcoin community.