Newly convicted felon Donald Trump has been ramping up a pro-crypto stance in recent weeks as part of a bid to win over fans of digital assets. The latest indicator that Trump hopes to be the candidate for the elusive “crypto voter“: The former president has turned to Elon Musk for advice on carving out his crypto policy, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Dialogue between the pair has accelerated in recent months, with the Trump campaign increasingly leaning on Musk’s crypto insight and influence, according to Bloomberg. Vivek Ramaswamy, a Trump ally, fellow entrepreneur, and failed election nominee, is a close friend of Musk and reportedly mediating the discussions. The liaising on crypto fits within a broader conversation about the ways in which Musk could take on an advisory role if Trump returns to office, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Trump campaign is also reportedly considering asking Musk to speak at the Republican convention in July. Musk made an appearance at a donor event for Trump in March, but afterward said he wouldn’t be donating to either party. He also pushed back on Bloomberg’s recent reporting, posting to X on Thursday: “Pretty sure I’ve never discussed crypto with Trump, although I am generally in favor of things that shift power from government to the people, which crypto can do.”
When Musk talks crypto, people listen. On several occasions, his posts on X have caused the prices of memecoins to skyrocket, such when he shared an image of his dog, Marvin, on his birthday, causing the price of the memecoin Marvin Inu to soar by over 400%, according to CoinGecko data. In April 2023, he temporarily transformed the home button on X to a Shiba Inu, the dog that symbolizes the Doge memecoin, and he featured in a crypto-themed sketch in an episode of Saturday Night Live.
Why is Trump chasing potential crypto voters?
Polls suggest Trump is just 1.7% ahead of President Joe Biden, and crypto, once a periphery policy concern, is becoming increasingly politicized, as even 100,000 or so votes could make the difference in November.
A recent survey of U.S. voters by Harris Poll suggests crypto is becoming a larger ballot consideration for many outside the core Web3 community. The poll found 41% of respondents agree with the statement: “I have been paying more attention to Bitcoin because of geopolitical tensions, inflation, and risks to the U.S. dollar,” up from 34% in November 2023. Meanwhile, a third of respondents said that digital assets will figure into their support of candidates.
As a result, Trump has been doubling down on currying favor among crypto enthusiasts in recent weeks. Last Tuesday, his presidential campaign said it would begin accepting donations via any crypto asset accepted through Coinbase. “Biden surrogate Elizabeth Warren said in an attack on cryptocurrency that she was building an ‘anti-crypto army’ to restrict Americans’ right to make their own financial choices,” the campaign said in the announcement, referring to a reelection ad Warren posted on X last year.
Is Trump’s conviction enough to turn off those same voters?
But Trump’s lean toward crypto may be eclipsed by his new criminal status.
On Thursday, Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts, a verdict Musk quickly denounced. The Manhattan jury of 12 found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in order to silence porn actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump called the trial a “disgrace” and insists he is an “innocent man.” Justice Juan Merchan will determine Trump’s sentence on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention is set to begin. Falsifying business records carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, but with no prior convictions, prison time is far from guaranteed.
Indeed, great damage was done today to the public’s faith in the American legal system.
If a former President can be criminally convicted over such a trivial matter – motivated by politics, rather than justice – then anyone is at risk of a similar fate. https://t.co/zrHCyIZazh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2024
Trump is both the first former president and potential future president to be criminally convicted. While this doesn’t prevent him from being reelected—the Constitution states that’s for the voters to decide—it remains unclear as to what extent his conviction will sway voters.
However, the moment news of the 34 counts broke, the price of the MAGA ($TRUMP) memecoin plummeted 15%, trading at $11.41, according to CoinGecko data. But, shortly after, it soared to an all-time high of $16.84, as of 7:30 p.m. ET. Since then, it’s hovering around $16.
On Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market, Trump maintains a 14% lead over Biden.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com