To say that I'm in absolute disbelief of this chapter in crypto history is an understatement. I've watched crypto grow; from watching bitcoin go from a rogue internet project back in 2010 to now being a spearhead of the incoming U.S. Presidential Administration. The evolution is pretty incredible. 

What's more incredible is that U.S. Department of Justice was cleared last week to sell 69,370 bitcoins seize from the black market Silk Road. Though Trump has vowed not to sell, this is still a developing story. The US Marshall Service is assumed to be in charge of the liquidation process, should that occur. Should the United States sell that Silk Road era stash of satoshis, China would become the country with the most bitcoin by a small margin - according to data from Bitbo.io. 

So, ahead of his inauguration, Trump is holding what is being called a "crypto leadership conference and ball." A black tie event, no less, which they say will feature "a powerful line-up of speakers...to spotlight meaningful dialogue, create strategic partnerships, and advocate for a prosperous future." It seems to be a fundraising and indirect lobbying event, with the likes Coinbase, Metamask, Solana, MicroStrategy, Kraken, and Galaxy Digital sponsoring the event. 

It's been reported by the Washington Post that Trump will sign a pro-crypto executive order, that will include repealing Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121, a government policy that requires companies to list digital assets as liabilities on their balance sheets. And so continues the American way, where money buys power. Or has the government populace finally discovered that crypto may be a new money printer?

If you're interested in tickets for the Crypto Leadership Conference and Inaugural Ball, here are the tiers:

Surely, such an event would accept crypto as payment for the tickets, right?

Nope, only US dollars. As someone who has had eyes on bitcoin from the heydays of the bitcointalk.org forums, I'm just still very skeptical. Regardless, we are at a very interesting crossroads in this chapter of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies: are we heading toward digital currencies truly being sound money for all worldwide, or just other "assets" being pumped via the greater fool theory? 

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