Douglas Gillison, Suzanne McGee and Michelle Price
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Cryptocurrency executives drank cocktails and danced to rap star Snoop Dogg on Friday night as they celebrated the impending inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, whose administration has promised major changes in crypto policy.
After years of clashing with policymakers in Washington, executives from crypto companies including Crypto.com, Kraken and Exodus partied at the first cryptocurrency inaugural ball held in the 90-year-old Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium under the 62-foot-tall (19-meter) columns.
Dressed in black tie and ball gowns, guests munched on miniature lobster rolls and Trump’s favorite McDonald’s (NYSE: ) burgers and fries, according to social media posts and two attendees who spoke to Reuters. In addition to Snoop Dogg, the entertainment lineup featured rappers Rick Ross and Soulja Boy, attendees said.
One of many celebrations in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday, the crypto gala marks a stunning turnaround for an industry that has been in the crosshairs of the Biden administration. Two years ago it looked to be on the brink of extinction amid the FTX collapse.
Trump, who did not attend the ceremony, courted crypto campaign cash by promising to be a “crypto president” and is expected to issue executive orders next week aimed at reducing crypto regulatory roadblocks and promoting widespread adoption of digital assets.
“There were a lot of dark years,” said Les Borsai, co-founder of crypto investment adviser Wave Digital Assets, who flew in from Los Angeles. “If this is indicative of what the future looks like … I think it’s the optimism we’ve been waiting for.”
Swag included red “Make Great Again” baseball caps and American flag pins emblazoned with Gemini, the event’s sponsor and the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who backed the Trump campaign.
SOLD OUT
Tickets were sold out at $2,500 for general admission, according to the ball’s website, but for a cool $100,000, VIP packages allowed a chance to mingle with tech entrepreneur David Sacks, Trump’s incoming crypto czar and gala host, according to attendees and crypto media .
About 1,500 people attended.
Several other officials from Trump’s new administration were also in attendance, those present said. Other sponsors included digital asset division Robinhood (NASDAQ: ), MicroStrategy and Crypto.com, according to the event website. The sponsors named the cocktails in their honor.
“Last night was really a testament to how mainstream crypto has become,” said JP Richardson, CEO of Exodus, which co-hosted the ball.
As the industry rejoiced, Trump on Friday night expanded his cryptocurrency interests, which already include World Liberty Financial, with the launch of a digital token tagged with an image from his July assassination attempt.
The price of that “meme coin” was around $27 as of Saturday afternoon, giving it a market capitalization of around $5.5 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Concerned about fraud and money laundering, President Joe Biden’s regulators have cracked down on crypto companies, suing exchanges Coinbase (NASDAQ: ), Binance, Kraken and dozens of others in federal court. Trump’s crypto policy team is taking shape, and his pick for chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the crypto-friendly Paul Atkins, is expected to bring big changes to crypto policy.
“The crypto voter appeared in the election and this event marks a turning point for crypto politics in the United States,” said Jonathan Jachym, global head of policy at Kraken, in a statement.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, hit new highs above $107,000 in December amid excitement over Trump’s policy changes.
“We are proud to support Crypto Ball (NYSE:) … and look forward to supporting the new administration to advance innovation in digital assets,” said a spokesperson for Crypto.com, adding the company’s president of North America, Matt David, was in attendance.
Representatives of the Trump administration, Robinhood, MicroStrategy, Gemini and the other two hosts of the event, BTC Inc. and Stand With Crypto, did not immediately comment. Sacks did not immediately respond by email to a request for comment. Reps for Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy could not be reached Saturday.
