In 2016, Silicon Valley largely opposed Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Fast forward to 2024, and many elites in the region are now publicly supporting him. According to Mark Cuban, this shift is largely due to cryptocurrency.
“It’s a bitcoin play,” wrote Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks minority owner and “Shark Tank” star, on X (formerly Twitter). He believes a Trump administration would facilitate crypto business operations through likely changes at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Once a critic, Trump has recently emerged as a Bitcoin supporter, accepting donations in cryptocurrencies, selling NFTs, and planning to speak at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville.
Public backing for Trump among tech leaders has surged, with prominent figures such as Elon Musk, the Winklevoss twins, and Andreessen Horowitz founders endorsing or financially supporting him through political action committees. Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, Trump’s chosen running mate, also has connections in the tech-venture capitalist world.
Republicans have long wooed Silicon Valley leaders with promises of lower corporate taxes. Although tech employees often lean liberal, their employers have traditionally funded candidates across both major U.S. political parties.
Cuban noted that Trump’s favorable stance on crypto is “nice,” but won’t necessarily affect crypto prices. Instead, he suggested that lower tax rates and tariffs, along with global geopolitical uncertainty, might drive Bitcoin’s value higher.
On the campaign trail, Trump has made various promises, including withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords, reconsidering U.S. aid to Ukraine, and imposing higher import taxes. He has also pledged to slash corporate tax rates to as low as 15% and maintain his 2017 tax cut provisions. In a recent interview, Trump suggested that Taiwan should financially compensate the U.S. for defense from China, likening the country to an insurance company.
Cuban believes that if the U.S. dollar weakens amid geopolitical uncertainty, Bitcoin could serve as a “safe haven,” drawing other countries to use it to protect their savings. He added that in an extreme scenario, Bitcoin could evolve into a global currency envisioned by its staunchest supporters.