President-elect Donald John Trump seems to have a lengthy to-do list when it comes to “making America Great Again.” This apparently includes meeting with, and potentially hiring many Bitcoin advocates and executives to join him in his administration.
Trump Set to Shake Things Up
Yesterday, Trump met with two more people aligned with Bitcoin and its supporters for potential positions in Washington.
This movement started with Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder (with Tesla’s Elon Musk), and initial financier of Facebook, who has been a part of Trump’s political Transition Team since the election last year.
Thiel has been on the record saying that Bitcoin was what PayPal was supposed to be, as it pertains to being a future online medium of exchange itself, not necessarily envisioned as the online fiat currency clearing house that it has become. Theil has invested millions in Bitcoin businesses over the years.
Thiel is closely linked to the two men Trump met with yesterday, who are both being interviewed for potential roles in the Food and Drug Administration, and both have been critical of the FDA’s leadership recently.
Jim O’Neill was once a former Health and Human Services official under President George W. Bush, and he currently works at Mithril Capital Management, where Thiel is also a co-founder. His recent commentary about the FDA has raised eyebrows in Washington, and this seems to have attracted the interest of Trump.
“We should reform FDA so that it’s approving drugs after their sponsors have demonstrated safety and let people start using them at their own risk, but not much risk of safety,” O’Neill said back in 2014. “But let’s prove efficacy after they’ve been legalized.”
Bitcoin Startup CEO Under Consideration
The other gentlemen under consideration is Balaji Srinivasan, who is an executive at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and founder of 21.co. The startup made headlines last March when it set a record for venture capital funding for a Bitcoin start-up, generating $116 million USD in capital.
The company creates Bitcoin mining computers, among other components. He has tweeted about his displeasure of the FDA in the past.
https://twitter.com/balajis/status/712245094670151682
Other Bitcoin-Friendly, Friends of Trump
Next week could be the finalization of these roles under consideration. Trump has already tapped known Bitcoin advocate Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) to run the Office of Management and Budget. Mulvaney has been a fixture on any discussion on Capitol Hill dealing with blockchain, digital currencies, and fintech. He has been seen teaching other politicians about the benefits of these new technologies to the future of American economics.
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