The cryptocurrency world was once the province of libertarians who kept their distance from the government. These days, it is in the midst of an all-out MAGA takeover. Star speakers at the Bitcoin Conference included a parade of Trump officials and Washington allies. Crypto boosters including billionaire bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor got a private audience with Vice President JD Vance to push their favored policies.

“The Bitcoin Conference right now is basically a right wing rally,” said Richard Scotford, a 53-year-old bitcoin owner who lives in Costa Rica. He said being enamored with powerful people is “against the ethos of bitcoin.”

Bitcoin was championed in its early days by libertarian idealists who dreamed of a currency that was totally private and secure, outside the reach of governments and financial institutions. Earlier conferences were concerned with the finer details of money and personal liberty, and were attended by more paranoid types, said bitcoin developer Tadge Dryja. “We were like, ‘Well, are they gonna bomb this place and kill us all because they want to destroy bitcoin?’” he said.

Despite the winning streak, Trump’s fervent embrace is causing discomfort to some factions of the crypto world, including a wing that has argued since bitcoin’s early days that cozying up to any government is a bad idea.

Backers of a national bitcoin reserve say it would lend the prestige of the U.S. government to the currency. “It’s a good thing, because the more people know about bitcoin, obviously, the higher the value is going to be,” T.J. Slingby, who works for a crypto advocacy group in California, said of the administration’s support of bitcoin.

"a more pragmatic approach took hold, one that sees joining with governments and financial institutions as the way to make bitcoin valuable in daily life—as a store of value, or a way to buy things."