US Election Benefitted Crypto Leaders With Billions in Additional Wealth: Report

Crypto behemoths and bosses who ploughed tens of millions into the November US elections have already reaped billions in wealth.

According to a CoinDesk report, the election results have caused tremendous wealth gain among top leaders of crypto firms. For instance, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong received a windfall from sales of his company stock after the November 5 election.

Armstrong’s stock sales alone have netted him an extra $129 million, while Coinbase’s market value has soared by $21 billion. Further, his stake in Coinbase has ballooned by nearly $2 billion since election day, which is now worth $6.4 billion.

Coinbase first announced a $25 million donation to the super political action committee Fairshake prior to the election. Per the report, Coinbase and Armstrong devoted a total of $74 million, matching donations made by Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

According to ‘Armstrong Plan,’ he still owns 10% of Coinbase and about 24 million shares value in his trust, a recent SEC filing revealed.

In a post on X prior to the election, Armstrong explained that his stock sales were part of a diversification plan, making him invest in moonshots, but retaining the remaining majority of his shares.

For the small handful of folks are looking at my latest 10b51 plan, some context: I will diversify a bit over time to make investments in moonshots, but still retain the vast majority of my Coinbase holdings. For some reason in the disclosures it doesn't show the price targets,…

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) November 2, 2024

Ripple, a16z Witness Gains Post Election

Additionally, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also saw huge gains after its native token XRP skyrocketed from $0.50 to $2.32 post-election.

According to CoinMarketCap data, XRP delivered gains of 54.7% in the past 30 days. This has propelled its market cap to third place in the list of digital assets.

“The crypto market is up over $1 trillion since Trump won,” Garlinghouse told CoinDesk.

Ripple donated $73 million, while a16z put in $70 million, including amounts held over for the next election cycle in 2026.

The CoinDesk report added that Garlinghouse owns more than 6% of Ripple and a large undisclosed amount in the XRP token. He is also listed among the other top U.S. billionaires.

The election has driven Garlinghouse’s holdings of XRP by more than three times since the token’s price increase, it added. As a result, the CEO’s personal wealth also saw a huge surge.

On the other hand, Mark Andreessen and Ben Horowitz from a16z, had many stakes in crypto companies. Their holdings have outpaced the money they devoted to U.S. politics after the election date.