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A16z Founders Praise Trump’s Crypto Credibility in Support – DL News
- Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz endorsed Trump on Tuesday.
- They applauded the former president’s cryptocurrency policy.
- Both think Trump will be a good candidate for “small tech.”
The founders of a16z, one of the richest venture capital firms in the United States, expressed their support for former President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
Why? Among other reasons, Trump’s stance on cryptocurrencies, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz said.
“The future of our business, the future of technology, new technology and the future of America are literally at stake,” Horowitz said at the start of a podcast released on Tuesday.
Their support comes as other tech luminaries line up to support Trump’s second reelection bid.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, She said will donate about $45 million a month to a pro-Trump super PAC.
And some in the cryptocurrency industry, including Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, have also promised their support.
President Joe Biden’s administration has been seen as, if not hostile, then at least highly critical of cryptocurrencies.
Lately I placed the veto a pro-crypto bill and proposed closing a tax loophole for cryptocurrency traders.
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Biden-appointed Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler has earned a reputation as the cryptocurrency bogeyman, as his agency has launched a flurry of enforcement actions against the industry.
Cryptocurrency advocates have said they hope a Trump administration will prove friendlier and see a new chair at the helm of the SEC.
“Small technology”
Andreessen and Horowitz stressed that Trump’s presidency will be beneficial for small startups, not just big tech giants like Google and Meta.
“For small tech, we think Donald Trump is actually the right choice,” Horowitz said. “Sorry, Mom, I know you’re going to be mad at me for this, but we had to do it.”
The two founders of a16z have argued that the Biden administration’s policies are stifling the growth of the US tech sector.
In particular, they believe that the current administration’s crackdown on the cryptocurrency sector is evidence of its overly restrictive stance on the technology.
“They’ve sued, I think, over 30 of our companies,” Horowitz said of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, later adding, “It’s just been terribly frustrating and difficult for us and for the industry.”
Crypto as a prelude
However, cryptocurrencies are not the hottest sector in the tech world. Artificial intelligence is the new watchword.
And it’s something a16z has invested significant amounts of money into, including pickets at industry-leading companies such as OpenAI and Mistral.
“My big concern is that what we’ve seen in cryptocurrency is just a preview of what’s to come in artificial intelligence,” he said.
That’s why he and Horowitz have pointed to Trump and the Republican Party’s much more vocal support for cryptocurrencies.
“We will end the illegal and un-American crackdown on cryptocurrencies,” the Republicans wrote in their recently released report. political platform for the 2024 elections.
Andreessen said the platform’s explicit reference to cryptocurrencies surprised him.
“This is a complete and total endorsement of the entire space,” he added.
Ben Weiss is a Dubai-based correspondent at DL NewsHave a suggestion? Email him at bweiss@dlnews.com.