The post Views from inside the Crypto Ball  appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. If you aren’t in DC and/or have not spent your inauguration weekend scrolling through Crypto Twitter, here’s a quick recap:  Crypto industry elites (and a journalist or two) donned black tie at the Crypto Ball Friday night.  Halfway through the ball, Donald Trump launched a memecoin, $TRUMP, which hit a market cap of $1 billion before Snoop Dogg left the stage.  Guests included incoming crypto czar David Sacks, Donald Trump Jr., Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent and, oddly enough, former Congress member and convicted felon George Santos.  House Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Bryan Steil, the new chair of the digital assets subcommittee, also made appearances.  “The reign of terror against crypto is over,” Sacks said during the only speech of the night.  Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy performed. Almost all of the crypto bros adhered to the black tie dress code, and only one tux-wearer opted for a splash of bitcoin orange: Michael Saylor.  Tickets to the main event started at $2,500 and eventually hit $10,000 before selling out. VIP tickets went for $100,000. $1 million got you four VIP tickets plus dinner for one with Donald Trump, who did not attend the ball, “at a later date.”  Let’s dispel a couple of myths about the event: It was not “invite only” and it was not hosted by Donald Trump. MAGA Inc. and Bitcoin Inc. ran the event, along with several sponsoring companies.  As for the memecoin, to say “no one at the ball knew about it” would be false. To say “few people at the ball cared about it,” on the other hand, would be more accurate.  As someone in the room, the politicians, industry execs and the ultra…

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Filed under: News - @ January 20, 2025 9:18 pm