Trump and the "Orange Pill" of Crypto Assets: Unveiling the Largest Lobbying Battle in Washington History

On the political stage in Washington, few industries have managed to move from the fringes to the core in just a few years like Crypto Assets, even successfully "turning" a president who once scoffed at it. Donald Trump, the American president who previously denounced Bitcoin as an "eyewash," has now become one of the staunchest supporters of Crypto Assets. This astonishing transformation has not only granted the Crypto Assets industry unprecedented influence in the White House but has also triggered the largest lobbying battle in modern Washington history. What exactly happened behind this?

From Mar-a-Lago's "sales pitch" to Trump's "transformation"

According to The New York Times, over a year ago, a group of Bitcoin executives, including David Bailey of the digital currency company BTC Inc., gathered at Mar-a-Lago to pitch Bitcoin to Trump. At that time, the Crypto Assets companies were suffering from a comprehensive crackdown in Washington, facing lawsuits, regulatory attacks, and threats of prosecution, and were in urgent need of a "savior."

Trump is not a natural sympathizer; he has publicly criticized Bitcoin. However, this industry suddenly caught his attention. Bailey was actively mobilizing Crypto Assets investors to vote for Trump and calling on colleagues to raise $100 million for his campaign. At Mar-a-Lago, Bailey brought representatives from several large Bitcoin mining companies to introduce the economic benefits of Bitcoin to Trump and boldly made a request: could Trump post a message supporting Bitcoin on his social media?

According to a copy of the meeting agenda reviewed by the American media, this proposal was listed at the bottom. Bailey recalled that Trump said he would "consider" it. Surprisingly, that evening, Trump posted a message on "Truth Social" that precisely conveyed the message put forth by the executives: "We want all remaining Bitcoins to be made in the USA!!! It will help us dominate the energy sector!!!" This post marks an early success in the high-risk lobbying efforts of the crypto industry and signals that the substantial funds invested by the industry in Trump will yield rich returns.

The "Influence Action" of the Crypto Assets Industry: A Well-Planned Lobbying Campaign

Since Trump's attitude towards Crypto Assets changed, the price of the highest market capitalization Crypto Asset Bitcoin has skyrocketed to over $100,000, allowing senior supporters of his campaign to earn a fortune. Crypto Asset advocates who were sidelined during the Biden administration now have astonishing access to the Trump administration, and the White House has quickly lifted regulatory crackdowns. Additionally, the federal government has adopted comprehensive support policies for Crypto Assets, which could disrupt the financial system of the United States for decades to come.

All of this stems from one of the largest lobbying battles in modern history. For months, industry executives, paid lobbyists, campaign staff, and Trump's business partners and family have carefully orchestrated a decentralized yet remarkably effective influence campaign that transformed Trump from an outspoken Bitcoin skeptic into one of the most important supporters of crypto assets.

According to relevant documents, recordings, and interviews with more than 50 participants in his crypto assets program, Trump lacks understanding of the complexity of crypto assets. When he discovered that crypto assets could bring huge profits for himself or his political group, he gladly accepted and outsourced the details to industry consultants with business ambitions. Today, he is deeply involved in the industry regulated by his government—an industry that was originally established as a rebellious alternative to big banks. Last autumn, he and his sons launched their own crypto assets business, embarking on a journey of new ventures that have now developed to include four types of Trump-branded digital coins and even a Bitcoin mining company.

The Game of Money: Bidding Wars and Shocking Donations

In this lobbying war, money plays a key role. Sometimes, the only effective counterbalance to the power of the industry is the competitors in the encryption currency field, who fight against each other to influence Trump, and this competition sometimes resembles a bidding war.

Just this spring, global Crypto Assets investors spent nearly $200 million purchasing a digital token promoted by Trump called "memecoin," vying to curry favor with the president at dinners. The Crypto Assets interest group also donated about $18 million to Trump's inaugural committee and millions to his political group, while also spending over $130 million supporting congressional candidates in favor of the Crypto Assets industry.

This influential action, while legal, is shocking even by Washington's standards, as it combines the president's personal wealth with the strategies long employed by corporate lobbyists. "None of this compares to what I'm seeing now," said Maxine Waters, the Democratic leader of the House Financial Services Committee and a congresswoman from California, in an interview. "The scale of this money is just too large."

White House spokesman Harrison Fields stated in a statement that the Trump administration "is fulfilling the president's commitment to making the United States the global capital of crypto assets by promoting innovation and economic opportunity." Many of Trump's allies emphasize that he has always been willing to listen to opinions—but ultimately makes important decisions himself. "No one can convince him of anything other than Trump," Bailey said.

From "Orange Pill" to Personal Business Empire

Crypto Assets enthusiasts have a term to describe the process of Bitcoin skeptics turning into believers. They call it "orange pilling," referring to the iconic color of Bitcoin, and it is also taken from a plot in the 1999 movie "The Matrix." Trump is undoubtedly a main target in this process.

In the past, he referred to crypto assets as "not currency" and "coming out of thin air." But the president's views on many issues are famously flexible. Supporters of crypto assets just need the right information and suitable communicators. After engaging with long-term business partner Bill Zanker (, Trump's attitude towards crypto assets began to soften.

Zankel once founded a for-profit education company that offered lectures by celebrities including Trump. By 2022, Zankel had rebranded himself as a Crypto Assets entrepreneur and pitched a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to Trump—collectible digital images built on the same technology as Crypto Assets. Each image features a cartoon version of Trump dressed as an astronaut, cowboy, or superhero. Zankel told him that these NFTs could create a value of up to 100 million dollars.

These NFTs were launched in December 2022 under the name "Trump Digital Trading Cards" and sold out almost immediately. (According to a financial disclosure document submitted last year covering several months of 2023 and early 2024, Trump earned over $7 million in revenue from NFT sales.)

About a year after the initial sale, in November 2023, cryptocurrency enthusiasts who purchased NFTs were invited to meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago. This was a pivotal moment in Trump's change of stance, and it was also his first time advocating for cryptocurrency investment in front of supporters. According to recordings obtained by The New York Times, the former president seemed uncertain about how to describe this peculiar new financial product he was promoting—"modern art or something like that," he said. But he was confident that he made quite a bit of money from these photos sold for $99 each. "They sold out in less than a day," Trump said. "I could have sold them for $199, $299, $399, $499."

In early May 2024, as the presidential campaign was heating up, Trump held another event for NFT holders at Mar-a-Lago. According to recordings obtained by American media, during a free Q&A session, a guest asked Trump’s supporters if they could donate to the campaign using digital currency. Although Trump made a commitment, he still sounded unsure. "If you can’t," he replied, "I will make sure you can." About two weeks later, Trump’s campaign team officially announced the policy to accept Crypto Assets. This demonstrates the strong influence of the Crypto Assets industry on candidates.

Trump's "marriage" with the Crypto Assets industry not only changed the political landscape of the United States but also injected new variables into the future development of Crypto Assets. This lobbying melee, interwoven with money, influence, and political calculations, reveals the growing power of the Crypto Assets industry in Washington. Regardless of the outcome, this period will become a thought-provoking case in the development process of Web3.