Web3 and Politics

Many people used to think that people in the crypto space were very united, often referring to them stereotypically as "crypto bros." This stereotype usually pictured them as right-leaning men in their early 20s. However, the situation before 2022 was actually very different.

Crypto was never inherently right-leaning; in fact, it leaned quite liberal or libertarian to begin with. Before 2022, when SBF and FTX were still major players, SBF was actually the largest single donor to the Biden campaign. At that time, SBF was frequently invited to Washington D.C. and maintained very close connections with many Democrats. Back then, the crypto space was generally more left-leaning, and Twitter was not yet owned by Elon Musk.

Twitter and Telegram are both important information sources for the crypto community. In that era, Web3 enthusiasts tended to be more left-leaning or libertarian. But after SBF was arrested and Twitter was acquired by Musk, things began to change. First, Twitter changed dramatically, ending much of the left-leaning censorship. Twitter quickly became a base for right-leaning influencers.

Then the MAGA crowd joined in, especially Donald Trump. During "Trump 1.0," he was quite against BTC and the crypto space; however, "Trump 2.0" is very supportive, and throughout his campaign, he heavily backed crypto. With all these factors combined, the crypto space effectively transformed from a more left-leaning community to a right-leaning one. In turn, more crypto influencers are also dipping into politics.

Everything is interrelated: the crypto space is being affected by U.S. government policies, while those same policies are creating more opportunities for insider trading in meme coins and prediction markets. In just three short years, crypto has become deeply connected to politics and taken a significant shift to the right wing.

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