He went viral for asking Trump a question. Does it store cryptocurrency in the US?

An unexpected moment can have surprising ramifications. This was vividly illustrated when the founders of the DeGods project were two NFT builders from DeLabs. candid (aka Rohun Vora) and Chief of Staff malcolm—He visited Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this month for an event for Trump NFT holders and went viral for asking the former president a question about cryptocurrency.

Not only has the exchange captivated online audiences, it’s also convinced some industry observers that it’s influencing the broader conversation about cryptocurrency regulation during the 2024 election cycle and turning MOG sunglasses-wearing Malcolm into a cryptocurrency folk hero of sorts. Yes.

Of course, as he recently said, changing the direction of U.S. cryptocurrency policy was not his reason for attending the event. decryption. He was just there to film some fun content.

“It was a small group of about 70 to 100 people. We wanted to know if we could ask questions,” Malcolm said.. However, due to the increasingly serious nature of the crowd at the moment, he felt a lot of pressure.

“A lot of our more interesting, viral ideas got lost because there were so many people, private equity funds, venture capitalists, etc.,” he said. “But then there was the Q&A portion, and that moment felt organic, and the question of regulatory clarity arose in my mind.”

Malcolm raised his hand. “You with the goggles,” Trump said, pointing his way.

“Many of the smartest people in the cryptocurrency industry are moving their operations out of the United States for fear of regulation,” Malcolm began.

President Trump interjected, “Because of hostility.” “They are moving out of the United States because of the hostility toward cryptocurrencies.”

When Malcolm pressed Trump on how he could stop that from happening, Trump responded, “Well, we’re going to stop it because I don’t want it to happen.” If we’re going to accept it, we have to make sure they’re here.”

The crowd cheered. And following the event, the online cryptocurrency community was abuzz with excitement. A meme featuring Malcolm wearing Pit Viper colors went viral. Some have argued that this bold move by Frank and Malcolm highlights the importance of clear regulatory guidance and brings the topic into the mainstream political conversation.

Cryptocurrency has quickly become an important issue for voters. Donald Trump emphasized its importance this weekend. In a speech at the Liberal Party convention“I guarantee the future of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin will be developed in America,” he declared.

He also supported self-custodial rights (i.e. the right to store cryptocurrencies privately in their own digital wallets) for the country’s 50 million cryptocurrency holders and was adamantly opposed to the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Trump also began accepting cryptocurrency donations for his own campaign last week.

It’s difficult to gauge the direct impact of the Trump NFT event and Malcolm’s policy questions, but the timing was perfect. Soon after, there was a noticeable change in the rhetoric surrounding cryptocurrency regulation among the 2024 presidential candidates.

Recently, the House of Representatives also passed the FIT-21 bill, which will finally provide the first federal regulatory framework for digital assets. The Biden administration has gone soft on cryptocurrencies by not threatening to veto the bill, despite vetoing another cryptocurrency bill earlier this month, perhaps due to pressure from Trump’s pro-crypto rhetoric.

More urgently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a spot Ethereum ETF last week in a policy change amid increasingly bearish expectations that regulators would reject it amid a broader cryptocurrency crackdown. Some cryptocurrency builders saw a clear through line from Malcom’s questions to the SEC’s big changes.

After the ETF was approved, Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss tweeted, “The guy in the goggles completely turned the fortunes of cryptocurrencies around in Washington.” “Good job, teacher.”

Frank, founder of the DeGods and y00ts projects, wasn’t shocked by how influential Trump’s comments were.

“I’m not at all surprised that this is so widespread,” he said. decryption. “Crypto natives desperately want politicians to get serious about regulatory clarity. Our livelihoods are in the balance. Malcolm’s question really hit the nail on the head by voicing a key concern for the cryptocurrency community: Trump. It was truly amazing to watch and participate.”

Did a man in MOG goggles actually change the direction of US cryptocurrency policy against a former president (now presumed to be the Republican nominee)?

Maybe it was just a coincidence. But even so, it is clear that their actions have brought attention to the issue in a way that traditional lobbying often fails to achieve. And it illustrates the complex interplay between meme culture and regulatory influences, showing that sometimes the most serious conversations start with a little humor.

Malcolm added, “I in no way take credit for ETFs or FIT-21.” “This fight is much bigger than me. I just wanted to represent young crypto natives who aren’t often heard in these ‘upper class’ conversations.”

Frank, a prominent builder in the NFT world, reflected on the broader implications and what this means for the future, and said this has made him think more seriously about cryptocurrency regulation.

“As you know, I’m really in learning mode these days. “I think the Trump incident aroused a lot of personal curiosity and revealed a gap in knowledge,” he said. “So far I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about (regulation). But I think DeGods, and Crypto Twitter more broadly, may play a much more important role in all of this than we think. I want to be more involved in making this happen.”

Editor: Andrew Hayward