Written by: Web3 Farmer Frank
After Trump's election, the connection between Crypto, Web3, and real-world politics has clearly entered a new stage.
In addition to Elon Musk and a series of crypto-friendly appointments involving key positions such as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, the SEC Chair, and the White House's crypto czar, some crucial figures operating behind the scenes, such as Peter Thiel, are also significant decision-making forces that cannot be ignored.
When mentioning Peter Thiel, many people might first think of the PayPal mafia, venture capital tycoon, and Silicon Valley patriarch, but one cannot overlook his understated yet highly influential political involvement.
If Elon Musk is the leading actor in this 'Trump Trading' drama, then Peter Thiel is more like the strategist hidden behind the scenes—his presence is everywhere and is likely to influence the volume and decision-making participation of tech capital in American politics and even the world for the next four years or longer.
Peter Thiel: The Capital and Political Backer of Vice President J.D. Vance
In 2011, Peter Thiel criticized society's blind followership of traditional career paths in a speech at Yale Law School, emphasizing that technological innovation should address real problems rather than pursuing superficial prosperity. This statement deeply impressed J.D. Vance, who was present at the time, prompting him to rethink his career plans.
Influenced by Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance abandoned the traditional legal profession and joined Peter Thiel's venture capital firm, Mithril Capital, entering the field of venture capital. During this period, J.D. Vance wrote a memoir (Hillbilly Elegy) detailing his growth experience in a working-class family in Ohio.
After its publication in 2016, the book quickly became a bestseller and was seen as revealing the mindset of Trump's supporters (rust belt workers, social conservatives, anti-globalization middle class, etc.).
Interestingly, J.D. Vance, who is now Trump's deputy, gained widespread attention for his writings at that time, which helped him emerge in the political arena. However, he initially held a critical attitude towards Trump and only gradually established a connection with Trump under Peter Thiel's recommendation.
Peter Thiel not only arranged a meeting between the two at Trump's Mar-a-Lago but also provided significant support for J.D. Vance's political career—he donated $15 million to the super political action committee supporting J.D. Vance, setting a record for the largest donation to a single Senate candidate.
It was also with Peter Thiel's support that J.D. Vance was successfully elected as a senator from Ohio in 2022, and in 2024, Trump announced J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential running mate (with J.D. Vance becoming a crucial ally or even a pawn). This reflects Peter Thiel's key role in shaping J.D. Vance's political career and highlights the influence of certain conservative forces from Silicon Valley in American politics.
However, this is not just a story of one person's power play; it reflects the structural shocks and interests game within the entire capitalist system.
Capital Power Shuffle: The Showdown Between New Money and Old Money
Overall, this year's U.S. presidential election resembles a prelude to a power shuffle within capitalism, where the 'New Money' represented by Silicon Valley's tech newcomers is challenging the 'Old Money' represented by Wall Street; or more accurately, competing for greater discourse power and rights to resource distribution.
The rise of Silicon Valley's newcomers is not accidental; over the past decade, emerging fields represented by AI and Crypto have become engines of economic growth. These new industries emphasize efficiency, innovation, and decentralization, and the call for 'less regulation' has become a common demand— from Web3 to AI, 'decentralization' and 'liberalization' have become their core narratives. This vision is simple yet highly appealing:
Higher technical efficiency, more capital flow, and possibly a redefinition of the rules of wealth creation.
This easily evokes thoughts of the contradictions between the BRICS countries and the existing international governance structure. However, as the main beneficiaries of the international trade system, BRICS countries seek to achieve redistribution within the rules rather than completely overthrowing the existing order. This gradual 'reform' path is, to some extent, a challenge to stability.
In contrast, the demands of Silicon Valley's newcomers are completely different; they do not want to strive for a fairer distribution of resources under existing rules but rather attempt to reshape the rules themselves. For example, they wish to promote capitalism with 'efficiency' at its core and advocate for 'less regulation'. Thus, for these emerging forces, regulation and rules mean constraints that hinder free innovation and the expansion of technological boundaries.
But the problem is that this path of liberalization and deregulation will inevitably further strengthen the advantageous positions of tech giants and capital giants—technologies like AI and Crypto will concentrate wealth more efficiently, accelerating the widening gap between the rich and the poor while marginalizing the interests of traditional industrial workers, which are part of Trump's basic support.
This inherent contradiction may become a deep driving force for the future division of American society.
Balancing New and Old Powers: Key Choices for the Future
From a longer-term perspective, whether the U.S. political and economic system can find a balance between 'New Money' and 'Old Money' in the next four years or even longer will directly determine the ultimate direction of this power shuffle.
For 'Old Money', they need to adapt more flexibly to the social changes brought by new technologies while defending their core position in rule-making. For 'New Money', they need to persuade a broader society to accept the costs of wealth redistribution brought by technological expansion.
The outcome of this struggle is not only related to the political and economic landscape of the United States but will also profoundly affect the future direction of global capitalism, which may be a microcosm of the transformation of global capitalism. In short, a new era driven by globalization and technology is approaching, and its key lies in how to redefine the distribution patterns of power, resources, and rules.
Crypto and AI will undoubtedly be the main battlegrounds. Aside from crypto projects personally invested in by Peter Thiel, such as Arkham, Infinex, and Polymarket, the entire Crypto field symbolizes so-called decentralized finance and capital liberalization, and it is also a key lever for Silicon Valley's tech capital to counter traditional finance and reshape the rules.
Because of this, the future is also full of opportunities, whether in AI, Crypto, or other emerging fields; their core narrative remains attractive: freedom, efficiency, innovation. This process will also test whether various parties can find a compromise amid conflicting interests.
From 'Trump Trading' to Peter Thiel's behind-the-scenes layout, what we see is not just an election but a battle for the future rules, destined to be a profound struggle over resources, power, and rules.
