Coinbase CEO Profits Billions Following Trump’s Election Victory

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) leaders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz reaped billions of dollars in profits following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, reports CoinDesk.

According to the publication’s calculations, Armstrong garnered approximately $437 million from selling Coinbase shares in the weeks following the election results, $129 million above their pre-election price. The exchange’s value surged by $21 billion, increasing the executive’s stake by over $2 billion.

From December 2023 to June 2024, Coinbase allocated around $74 million to support the Fairshake political action committee, which advocates for pro-cryptocurrency presidential candidates in the U.S.

Armstrong announced the share sale nearly three months before the election, with transactions set to commence upon reaching certain price thresholds, which were not anticipated so soon. Currently, COIN shares trade around $279, according to TradingView. On November 4, they were valued at $186.

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 allocated $73 million to the election campaign. Following the election, Brad Garlinghouse’s XRP assets more than tripled as the token’s price soared from $0.5 to $2.32, placing the coin third in market capitalization.

Ripple Labs’ private valuation is uncertain, last estimated around $11 billion. CoinDesk speculates that the election almost certainly increased Garlinghouse’s stake in the company and his personal assets.

a16z invested $70 million, including substantial sums reserved for the next election cycle in 2026. The earnings of Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz from private company investments are not public. However, the publication believes that given their extensive crypto portfolio, the entrepreneurs received a significant amount exceeding their investments.

Earlier, Gemini exchange founders the Winklevoss twins made a substantial donation to Trump, sending $2 million in bitcoin. Part of the funds was returned as they exceeded the permissible limit for candidate support.

Analysts suggest that political expenditures, including Fairshake’s funds, could enhance the chances of passing cryptocurrency and stablecoin legislation.