Former President Donald Trump recently positioned himself as a strong advocate for cryptocurrency at a high-profile fundraiser in San Francisco.

The event, hosted by tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya in the affluent Pacific Heights neighborhood, raised an impressive $12 million for his campaign. Trump has criticized Democratic efforts to regulate the industry, billing himself as the “cryptocurrency president” and promising a more favorable attitude towards digital assets.

Trump’s position on cryptocurrencies and the industry’s response

Trump’s statement of support for cryptocurrency It comes as the industry faces increased regulatory scrutiny. Last year saw several high-profile failures among major cryptocurrency companies, resulting in significant losses for investors and uncovering numerous cases of fraud and misconduct. Despite these challenges, Trump highlighted the importance of the cryptocurrency industry and expressed strong support for it, but did not provide specific details on proposed policies.

The cryptocurrency industry, eager to influence US political discourse, welcomed Trump’s statements. Republican National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon highlighted Trump’s commitment to stopping what she called the “Biden-Gensler crusade against cryptocurrencies.” This refers to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler efforts under the The Biden administration plans to implement stricter regulations for the industry.

Biden’s high-profile support and regulatory approach

The fundraiser attracted major figures from the cryptocurrency world, including CoinBase prominent executives and investors like Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Their presence highlights a growing trend among Silicon Valley venture capitalists and venture capitalists cryptocurrency investors that favor Trump’s less normative approach. This support contrasts sharply with San Francisco’s predominantly liberal tendencies.

Under President Joe Biden, the White House has taken steps to ensure the responsible development of digital assets. An executive order signed in 2022 directed agencies such as the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to develop rules that address risks in the crypto ecosystem. White House Spokeswoman Robyn Patterson said the administration supports innovation while also aiming to protect consumers from potential dangers associated with new technologies.

Trump’s promise to rein in regulatory efforts resonates with industry leaders concerned about what they perceive as excessive regulation. Figures like Jacob Helberg, an advisor to Palantir, have expressed strong support for Trump’s pledge to quickly end tough regulatory measures.

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The cryptocurrency industry is increasingly trying to influence US politicians as it faces increasing scrutiny from regulators, especially since the failures of major cryptocurrency companies in 2022 have spooked investors, they put exposed fraud and misconduct and left millions of investors out of money.

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Friendship is often touted as one of life’s most priceless treasures, a bond that transcends material wealth. Interestingly, in the age of cryptocurrency and blockchain, this relationship is being commoditized and tokenized through the raging phenomenon called Friend.Tech.

How much is a true friendship really worth to you? And would you be willing to sell that friendship to the highest bidder? These are the burning questions put to the test by this controversial new platform that has taken the cryptocurrency world by storm.

So what exactly is Friend.Tech? How does this decentralized social app work? And, most importantly, in symbolizing human connection itself, is he proving himself to be a trusted companion or an enemy who undermines the true essence of friendship? Let’s peel back the layers on this viral craze.

What is Friend.Tech?

The concept of a decentralized social app (or Social DApp) is not new, but Friend.Tech has emerged as the most successful Web3 “anti-Facebook” to date. Built on the Base network, Friend.Tech boasts over 200,000 users and an astonishing $309 million in trading volume. Its popularity helped Base surpass Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Optimism in transactions per second after launch.

Surprisingly, Friend.Tech is now one of the most profitable crypto protocols, surpassing giants like Uniswap, MakerDAO, and even Bitcoin itself, all within months of its release on August 10th.

Origin of Friend.Tech

Interestingly, Friend.Tech started out under a different name than the two-person team Racer and Shrimp. Racer’s first decentralized social project was TweetDAO, where egg NFTs granted access to a shared Twitter account before being shut down.

Then came Stealcam, rebranded as Friend.Tech in May, where users could mint images as invisible-until-purchased NFTs, which could also disappear if someone else bought them from you.

How does Friend.Tech work?

The premise is simple: Friend.Tech allows you to buy and sell “keys” that represent shares of your friends or any user. A larger number of keys makes future keys exponentially more expensive. Each transaction carries a 10% commission: half goes to the buyer/seller and half to the platform. Key owners get access to private chat rooms and exclusive content from that “friend.”

The hype behind Friend.Tech

So why this advertisement? Probably the prospect of a future airdrop, as suggested by Friend.Tech’s “airdrop” tab which states “Points released every Friday will have future uses.” Popular Crypto Twitter personalities like Hsaka, Cobie, and Pranksy were among the first, along with celebrities like Grayson Allen and FaZe Banks whose keys were stolen by fans.

VCs like Paradigm have also come on board. The attraction of these chats is that their owners can offer trading insights, token choices, or access to seed funding deals, which increases the value of the shares.

To get started, you will need an invitation code from friends or influencers. Then create an account linked to X (formerly Twitter) and deposit at least 0.01 ETH from Ethereum or Base into the automatically created wallet. Using a wallet burner is advisable for privacy. Once set up, start purchasing and exchanging buddy keys!

To accumulate launch points you must actively buy, sell and share invitation codes. However, many question Friend.Tech’s staying power, given the openly teased airdrop and questionable sustainability with top keys ranging from 0.1 to over 7 ETH. Is the activity simply supported by whales hungry for airdrops? The 5% revenue share for exchange users also incentivizes public figures to sign up for “easy money” without providing real value.

Although volatile, Friend.Tech was earning over $1 million a day in commissions at its peak in August with over 100,000 users, an extremely high figure for a crypto app. Some key influencers like @Cobie and @HsakaTrades have reached almost $5,000. Business waned as the shine faded, but saw an influx of $7 million in early April ahead of the launch of Version 2 expanding beyond Twitter in May 2024. Weekly rates recently topped 1.3 million dollars for the first time since November.

Developers have also teased a FRIEND token, with the expectation that it could be launched based on accumulated usage points. However, privacy concerns persist as one researcher easily doxxed users by linking Twitter profiles to wallet addresses generated upon registration. The wisdom of trusting Friend.Tech with private keys is also questionable.

Ultimately, Friend.Tech exemplifies how anything can be tokenized in cryptocurrencies, innovatively monetizing attention and influence in a similar way to OnlyFans or Patreon. But is the price of these friendships exchanged on blockchain what you are willing to pay?

(The author is the Vice President of WazirX)

Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are their own and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and views of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd. Crypto products and NFTs are not regulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any losses arising from such transactions. Cryptocurrency is not legal tender and is subject to market risks. Readers are advised to seek expert advice and carefully read the offering documents along with relevant relevant literature on the subject before making any type of investment. Cryptocurrency market forecasts are speculative and any investments made will be at the sole cost and risk of the readers.

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By Alexandra Ulmer

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump portrayed himself as a supporter of cryptocurrencies and criticized Democrats’ attempts to regulate the industry at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Thursday, three sources in attendance told Reuters.

Trump raised $12 million from the fundraiser hosted by tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya at Sacks’ home in the upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood.

“He said he would be the president of cryptocurrencies,” Trevor Trainaa San Francisco-based technology executive and Trump’s former ambassador to Austria told Reuters.

The cryptocurrency industry is increasingly trying to influence US politicians as it faces increasing scrutiny from regulators, especially since the failures of major cryptocurrency companies in 2022 have spooked investors, they put exposed fraud and misconduct and left millions of investors out of money.

Trump has considered cryptocurrencies important and has emphasized that he is very supportive of the industry, said Harmeet Dhillon, a member of the Republican National Committee.

Dhillon said Trump, who is running to unseat Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, offered no details on his proposed crypto policy.

Biden signed an executive order in 2022 aimed at ensuring the responsible development of digital assets, which has led to reports urging regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to issue guidelines and rules to address risks in the cryptocurrency industry. ecosystem.

The White House under Biden has also said it is eager to work with Congress to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.

In a statement to Reuters, White House spokeswoman Robyn Patterson said the Biden administration supported innovation in digital assets by seeking to protect consumers from “risks associated with new technologies.”

Although San Francisco is heavily liberal, a growing number of high-profile local venture capitalists and cryptocurrency investors have thrown their support behind Trump, with many of them citing what they see as excessive regulation among their reasons.

“President Trump has made it clear that the Biden-Gensler crusade against cryptocurrencies will stop within an hour of the second Trump administration,” said Jacob Helberg, a consultant at data analytics provider Palantir, referring to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.

Executives from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, twin cryptocurrency investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and other industry leaders attended Thursday, Dhillon added.

A spokesperson for Gemini, the company founded by the Winklevoss twins, did not immediately comment.

Sacks and Palihapitiya have spoken publicly about their investments in cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin.

The founder of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was found guilty last year of stealing from customers. Prosecutors allege he used those funds to donate more than $100 million to U.S. political campaigns.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Additional reporting by Hannah Lang; Editing by Rod Nickel and Deepa Babington)

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