Following the recent US election, leading figures in the cryptocurrency world have seen a massive boost to their wealth, according to a report by Coindesk.
CEOs like Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong and Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse experienced major financial gains after the election results. Armstrong, for example, earned an additional $129 million from stock sales, while Coinbase’s market value surged by $21 billion. Armstrong’s stake in Coinbase increased by nearly $2 billion, bringing its total value to $6.4 billion.
Coinbase also made a notable political contribution, donating $74 million to various political action committees (PACs) to support the election. Armstrong’s stock sales were part of his diversification strategy, ensuring continued control over his company.
Ripple’s Garlinghouse saw even more dramatic gains after the value of XRP, the company’s native token, soared from $0.50 to $2.32 post-election. This surge in XRP’s value led to a 54.7% increase in its market cap over the past 30 days, sending it to the third position among all digital assets. Garlinghouse also owns more than 6% of Ripple and a significant amount of XRP, which has now increased in value by over three times since the election.
“The crypto market is up over $1 trillion since Trump won — that’s the price of Gensler’s foot on the neck of the market, and he’s not even officially gone yet,” Garlinghouse told Coindesk. Although Ripple Labs’ private valuation was last estimated at around $11 billion earlier this year, the election has likely increased the value of Garlinghouse’s stake, causing his personal wealth to soar.
Additionally, major investors in crypto firms such as Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) also enjoyed major gains, outpacing their election-related investments. Ripple and A16Z each donated tens of millions to political causes, with Ripple contributing $73 million and A16Z $70 million.
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