Earlier this week, the FBI raided the Florida home of billionaire Donald Trump. If the federal authorities were mainly targeting documents related to America’s nuclear arsenal, certain elements found in the former president’s home suggest that he could try to use digital assets to return to politics. With the line of sight, a return to the White House in 2024?
A 2024 application funded by DeFi?
The FBI’s search earlier this week inside the American billionaire’s “Winter White House” property was a flurry. It allows today to confirm that Trump would be more connected than he likes to say, to cryptocurrencies.
Wanting to run for president in 2024, the businessman would do anything to finance part of his campaign through decentralized finance (DeFi). The back? Get funding by leaving as little trace as possible. I’m not sure that this argument is to everyone’s taste, especially since the former president is still accused of financing his last campaign with Russian and Middle Eastern capital.
In a way, this story reminds us of a precedent in France. Candidate Gaspard Koenig wanted to finance part of his campaign by selling his NFT collection.
Donald Trump: cryptophile or crypto skeptic?
During his mandate alone, the Republican president often spat his hatred of Bitcoin or the more global universe of digital assets. In June 2021, when he was no longer president, the real estate mogul even went so far as to call the mother of cryptocurrencies a scam. A few months later, his girlfriend Melania Trump launched her own collection of NFTs. An initiative that her husband then approved that no longer seems like a paradox.
But rather than using digital assets as a possible way to finance his campaign, Trump may be trying to stir up crypto addicts in the land of Uncle Sam. The latest figures tend to show that around 10% of Americans own digital assets. 16% have already invested in this type of asset. Among new investors, about 25% invest in the cryptocurrency market. Additionally, nearly 90% of the American population says they are ready to invest in Bitcoin and digital assets more broadly. Trump probably feels the tide is turning.
Is Donald Trump a Bitcoin whale?
But the FBI’s investigations also revealed that the politician may have been framed crypto donation system. A system that would allow him to get funding in crypto. For Trump, this system would have several advantages: donor anonymity and donation limits. It is this second point above all that could give Trump a decisive advantage. Because it’s Uncle Sam country, donations to presidential candidates are heavily regulated and cannot exceed $2,700 per donor.
At the moment, it seems difficult to confirm that Trump has initiated such a step or is in possession of this alleged portfolio. In reality, the former president seems to be trying to circumvent certain rules through digital assets. All these stories may take another turn, if Donald Trump once again fights for the White House. But the path appears to be full of pitfalls for the former Republican president.
