Steve Bannon, one of the masterminds behind Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and a former member of his presidential cabinet, has found a new passion in addition to politics: Cryptocurrencies
US President Donald Trump (L) congratulates Senior Counselor to the President Stephen Bannon during the swearing-in of senior staff in the East Room of the White House on January 22, 2017 in Washington, DC. / MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Trump’s well-known advisor, famous for citing Nazi Propagandist Leni Riefenstahl as a source of inspiration and driving Trump’s victory through campaigns designed by Cambridge Analytica, has now taken the promotion of cryptocurrency quite seriously.
According to The New York Times, Steve Bannon has a view of cryptocurrency that is more philosophical and political than pragmatic:
“It’s disruptive populism … It takes control back from central authorities. It’s revolutionary.” said Steve Bannon during an interview at his Capitol Hill townhouse in Washington.
This perspective, similar to that of the great proponents such as Roger Ver and John McAfee, has strong support in the political sectors linked to the right wing.
According to Steve Bannon, the use of cryptocurrency is also an excellent tool for a better exercise of politics in general:
“It was pretty obvious to me that unless you got somehow control over your currency, all these political movements were going to be beholden to who controlled the currency,”
According to the New York Times, in addition to the famous political tours, Steve Bannon arranged interviews and closed meetings with significant crypto investors.
The well-known newspaper points out that in several of these interviews, conducted through Bannon & Company, Steve Bannon “said he had a “good stake” in Bitcoin.”
Bannon does not provide information about the projects he works on. His investments in cryptos and ICOs are secret because “he worries that the controversy that comes with his name could have a bad impact on projects just getting off the ground.”
Steve Bannon: Controversial but Well Prepared
Steve Bannon has taken on the task of researching not only bitcoin but also the possible consequences of the massive adoption of cryptocurrencies.
After an interview with the Ikigai hedge fund, Timothy Lewis, one of its co-founders was surprised about how well Steve Bannon knew the crypto sphere:
“I didn’t know what to expect going in, but he had clearly done his homework,”
Timothy Lewis
Steve Bannon’s vision and interest in cryptocurrencies are not a good sign for some people in the crypto sphere who think that Trump’s friend’s bad reputation can hurt the ecosystem:
“It almost seems like a natural progression for a man who gained prominence by shoveling out unfounded conspiracies to now shilling complex technology and financial instruments to an unsophisticated investing public,” said Colin Platt, a cryptocurrency researcher, and adviser.
