Worse Than a Scam: How Crypto Fueled American Fascism

For nearly half a decade, my unrelenting indictments of cryptocurrency as "merely a grift" were met with contemptuous dismissal, vitriolic derision, and accusations of technological Luddism from an entrenched ecosystem of libertarian zealots and techno-utopian determinists. More crucially, when I posited that cryptocurrency functions as a vector for radicalization inexorably culminating in fascist governance, such prognostications were summarily dismissed as hysterical catastrophizing—the overwrought anxieties of a financial traditionalist incapable of comprehending the supposed "nuance" of cryptocurrency's ideological underpinnings. Now with the Trump administration hell-bent on using cryptocurrency to fund their authoritarian agenda, it's clear that the time for such dismissals is over.

I was far from the first to sound this warning, there were many others who warned of this time bomb before me. The late sociologist David Golumbia presciently identified the inherent right-wing infrastructure of cryptocurrency in his 2016 work The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism. Golumbia meticulously deconstructed how Bitcoin's foundational ideology, technical architecture, and surrounding discourse were deliberately engineered to advance libertarian and anarcho-capitalist political hegemony while masquerading as politically neutral technology. His analysis eviscerated the pretense of neutrality, exposing how cryptocurrency's core premises—pathological distrust of central banking, wholesale rejection of state monetary authority, and fetishization of algorithmic governance—directly instantiate long-standing right-wing extremist positions. He unequivocally declared:

Bitcoin was designed to 'satisfy needs that make sense only in the context of right-wing politics'; that 'Bitcoin enthusiasts repackage material from [right-wing extremist] writers almost verbatim' and, as such, 'Bitcoin serves […] to spread and firmly root' the right-wing ideology.'

The contemporary American political landscape stands as incontrovertible validation of these warnings about the radicalizing nucleus of the crypto movement. As the United States undergoes precipitous democratic collapse under the reinstated Trump administration—with constitutional safeguards methodically eviscerated and authoritarian governance normalized—the causal relationship between cryptocurrency proliferation and democratic disintegration has crystallized beyond dispute. What I articulated years ago was not merely a critique of degenerate gambling but a forensic dissection of cryptocurrency's inherent capacity to undermine democratic institutions through unregulated capital flows, systematic political corruption, deliberate regulatory arbitrage, and the calculated financialization of extremist politics.

My warnings were not pessimistic hyperbole but rather a precise diagnosis of cryptocurrency's function as both the economic engine and operational infrastructure for authoritarian consolidation—precisely the outcome now manifesting throughout American governance. The symbiosis of cryptocurrency and authoritarian politics represents not merely correlation but direct causation in America's democratic implosion. What germinated as a fringe financial movement has metastasized into a hegemonic political force, creating a pipeline that systematically radicalizes young men and transforms them into a decisive voting bloc for Trump's authoritarian agenda.

The demographic contours of cryptocurrency adoption expose an incontrovertible reality: 42% of men aged 18-29 have participated in cryptocurrency markets compared to 17% of women. This stark gender disparity is no coincidence but deliberate demographic engineering. Cryptocurrency marketing methodically targets economically disenfranchised young men, weaponizing their financial precarity and promises of instant wealth. Social media platforms—particularly Twitter—have transmuted what began as online communities into fanatical investment collectives driven by toxic hyper-masculine competitive dynamics, where "diamond hands" and "not gonna make it" function as liturgical incantations for a generation of disaffected young men seeking tribal belonging and financial salvation.

This demographic targeting constitutes a sophisticated radicalization apparatus for the right. The gamification of financial speculation within digital ecosystems creates psychological conditions inexorably conducive to extremist indoctrination, particularly when market volatility produces catastrophic financial losses. Those who experience financial devastation in crypto markets do not interpret it as mere investment failure; they experience it as existential betrayal by institutional power, fueling primordial rage against perceived enemies—the government, Federal Reserve, or "deep state" operatives. This incandescent anger is methodically redirected by right-wing propagandists toward manufactured scapegoats, reinforcing a metastasizing culture of grievance and conspiratorial thinking that serves as the foundational substrate for fascist politics.

The radicalization pipeline functions with algorithmic precision, meticulously cultivating a totalizing worldview that reconfigures all human relations through the prism of market fundamentalism. Cryptocurrency's embrace of heterodox economic theories—from Austrian School extremism to techno-feudalist libertarianism—systematically corrupts epistemological frameworks by elevating fringe economic dogma to theological status. This intellectual corruption operates synergistically with an ideological superstructure predicated on undermining state legitimacy, atomizing social bonds, and reducing all human interactions to transactional calculations. The pipeline's genius lies in its incremental progression: from initial investment and community immersion, through disillusionment and conspiracy adoption, to full ideological capture where democratic governance itself becomes categorized as inefficient, corrupt, and obsolete. By manufacturing consent for privatized sovereignty through the financialization of political power, cryptocurrency's ideological apparatus doesn't merely coincide with fascist tendencies—it deliberately engineers them by transforming economic self-interest into political nihilism. The result is a cohort of radicalized adherents who view democratic collapse not as catastrophe but as creative destruction—the necessary precondition for their prophesied crypto-libertarian utopia.

Fascism thrives on mythological narratives, atavistic nostalgia, and messianic promises of restored greatness. Cryptocurrency's eschatological narrative—offering salvation from a corrupt financial order and democratized access to unprecedented wealth—seamlessly integrates with this fascist framework. When these messianic promises inevitably collapse, the resulting disillusionment is weaponized by demagogues who transmute it into violent antipathy, social balkanization, and eliminationist rhetoric. The militarization of civic life, demonization of marginalized populations, and systematic erosion of epistemic authority all accelerate as financialized grievances are incorporated into a comprehensive fascist project.

The Trump administration's financial policies institutionalized cryptocurrency's governance integration. The March 2025 establishment of a "national cryptocurrency reserve" constituted an unprecedented fusion of personal financial interest with monetary sovereignty. The tokenization of political influence became explicit with the creation of the TRUMP memecoin, generating approximately 100 million dollars for administration-affiliated individuals. The administration's World Liberty Financial enterprise extracted 75 million dollars from Chinese entrepreneur Justin Sun, followed by the Securities and Exchange Commission's termination of fraud investigations against him—an unambiguous demonstration of regulatory capture.

Political finance underwent fundamental transformation through cryptocurrency's influence. Industry entities injected $169 million into congressional campaigns in 2024, effectively purchasing legislative servitude through political action committees employing euphemistic nomenclature. This capital deployment irrevocably altered the composition of representative institutions, subordinating democratic functions to cryptocurrency interests.

The regulatory strategy deployed by the cryptocurrency sector epitomizes systematic subversion of legal frameworks: operating flagrantly outside established regulations, engaging in dilatory litigation, and simultaneously securing political influence to retrospectively legitimize predatory operations. Following the 2024 election, the SEC underwent comprehensive purging, with enforcement actions against major cryptocurrency exchanges summarily terminated and regulatory leadership replaced with industry sycophants.

Legislative developments further entrenched this hegemony. The passage of the GENIUS Act authorized private entities to issue stablecoins, effectively privatizing monetary policy. The Trump administration's World Liberty Financial initiative to create USD stablecoins represents the culmination of cryptocurrency's assault on monetary sovereignty—the complete conflation of governmental authority with private financial interests.

The case of Senator Sherrod Brown illuminates the systemic implications of cryptocurrency's political hegemony. As Senate Banking Committee chairman, Brown conducted incisive oversight hearings examining cryptocurrency's facilitation of terrorist financing and advocated for regulatory frameworks. The cryptocurrency industry responded with a $40 million intervention in Ohio's electoral process, installing an opponent with direct blockchain industry affiliations. Brown's electoral defeat, despite decades of public service, exemplifies the industry's ruthless excision of regulatory obstacles. This pattern replicated across 53 of 58 targeted electoral races nationwide.

The term "crypto-fascism," historically denoting concealed fascist sympathies, now acquires literal significance in contemporary American politics as fascism financially engineered by cryptocurrency. The current political configuration manifests quintessential elements of fascist governance: contemptuous rejection of democratic processes, corporate-state fusion, exploitation of economic grievances, personality cult dynamics, and belligerent nationalism—all substantially financed and operationalized through cryptocurrency's infrastructure.

The cryptocurrency industry's $245 million investment in the 2024 election cycle yielded incalculable policy returns. Corporate executives previously subject to federal investigation now occupy positions of unchecked influence in Washington. Regulatory frameworks addressing market manipulation and consumer protection have been systematically dismantled.

The integration of cryptocurrency financing with authoritarian politics constitutes an existential threat to democratic governance. The strategic elimination of Senator Brown demonstrates the industry's capacity to excise regulatory opposition through targeted electoral intervention. That an industry characterized by systematic fraud, market manipulation, and regulatory evasion now exercises effective control over American political institutions represents a terminal democratic crisis.

America's democratic collapse was engineered through cryptocurrency's exploitation of institutional vulnerabilities, enabling the wholesale purchase of political influence and transforming governance into a subsidiary of speculative financial interests. This development represents not merely regulatory failure but the comprehensive subversion of democratic sovereignty through technological means.

Mealy-mouthed equivocation—referring to "concerning authoritarian tendencies" instead of fascism, or "regulatory challenges" instead of organized fraud—isn't political prudence; it's intellectual cowardice that accelerates democratic disintegration. Every time a politician refuses to name the existential threat we face, they normalize it. Every hedged statement about "legitimate applications" of cryptocurrency or blockchain legitimizes an industry built on the deliberate exploitation of right-wing extremism and systematic political corruption.

The time for rhetorical moderation has long passed. America's democratic survival depends on our willingness to articulate uncomfortable truths without qualification or apology. The United States is careening toward authoritarian consolidation. We recognize this trajectory because it replicates historical precedents from 1930s Europe. The Democratic Party's pathological aversion to unambiguous language has only accelerated our democratic collapse. While Republicans brazenly dismantle institutional safeguards, Democrats respond with focus-grouped euphemisms and impotent appeals to "norms" that no longer constrain authoritarian ambitions. We must speak with unequivocal clarity: Trump embodies contemporary American fascism. His political and financial power derives directly from cryptocurrency fraud. And cryptocurrency itself is not merely a scam but a deliberate mechanism for democratic subversion. This is not hyperbole—it is our present reality.