Following the recent US election, leading figures in the cryptocurrency world have seen a huge increase in their wealth, according to a report from Coindesk.
CEOs like Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong and Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse saw significant financial gains following the election results. Armstrong, for example, earned an additional $129 million from selling shares, while Coinbase’s market value increased 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 spectacular gains after the value of XRP, the company’s native token, soared from $0.50 to $2.32 following the election. This increase in the value of XRP led to a 54.7% increase in its market capitalization in the last 30 days, taking it to the third position among all digital assets. Garlinghouse also owns over 6% of Ripple and a significant amount of XRP, which has now increased in value more than threefold since the election.
“The cryptocurrency market is up over $1 trillion since Trump won — that’s the price of Gensler’s foot on the neck of the market, and it’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 is likely to have increased the value of Garlinghouse’s stake, causing his personal wealth to skyrocket.
Additionally, top investors in crypto companies like Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) also enjoyed significant gains, outperforming their election-related investments. Ripple and A16Z each donated tens of millions to political causes, with Ripple contributing $73 million and A16Z $70 million.
