NASHVILLE — There were stacks of orange coins, a crypto-themed stock car and a plethora of miniature rockets meant to embody the hope that prices might shoot “to the moon.”
But the usual trappings accompanied a more political sight at the annual conference that bills itself as the world’s largest gathering of bitcoin enthusiasts: klaxon-red hats emblazoned with the slogan “Make bitcoin Great Again.”
Many of the nation’s leading cryptocurrency companies, executives, investors and fanatics are beginning to unite around former president Donald Trump, hoping their public embrace — and increasingly generous campaign checks — might entice and elect a presidential candidate who will spare the industry from federal regulation.
Under President Biden, the U.S. government has aggressively cracked down on crypto, seeking to protect average Americans from scams and prevent the largely anonymous tokens from enabling illicit activities. But the fierce oversight has chafed crypto advocates and angered wealthy political benefactors in Silicon Valley. To ward off new federal probes, environmental protections and financial regulations, they have gravitated toward Trump — even if they don’t always like him — in the hope that he will deliver relief in Washington.
“I think what people are excited about is, if Trump comes in with a new circle, and Cabinet members, and people, that it’s going to change, and change for the better,” said Marshall Beard, the chief operating officer at Gemini, a crypto trading platform and banking service. He described himself as apolitical, but his company’s founders, billionaire investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, have donated heavily in support of Trump.
Trump has gladly accepted the entreaties: Newly awash in crypto cash, he has celebrated bitcoin and other digital tokens, marking a shift from his time in office, when Trump proclaimed he was “not a fan” of bitcoin and linked such assets to drug sales. The early uptick in fundraising support has troubled some Democrats, who have scrambled to show they are not hostile to the industry.
Trump’s conversion will be on…
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