In a highly anticipated interview on Monday evening, former President Donald Trump engaged in a wide-ranging discussion with X CEO Elon Musk, addressing critical topics like illegal immigration, the economy, artificial intelligence, and global warming. However, despite high expectations from the crypto community, Trump made no mention of Bitcoin or crypto throughout the conversation.
The interview, held on X Spaces, attracted over a million listeners and was delayed by more than 45 minutes. Musk attributed the delay to a “massive distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack” on X, suggesting that the disruption was an attempt to prevent people from hearing what Trump had to say. “As this massive attack illustrates, there’s a lot of opposition to people just hearing what President Trump has to say,” Musk commented during the session.
However, Musk’s claim of a DDOS attack has been met with skepticism. A report from The Verge cited a source disputing Musk’s explanation, suggesting a “99 percent chance Musk was lying” about the nature of the disruption. The cybersecurity watchdog organization, NetBlocks, also reported international outages affecting X Spaces but did not confirm whether these issues were indeed due to a DDOS attack.
Crypto Community Anticipates Bitcoin and Crypto Mention
As the interview approached, there was considerable speculation within the crypto community about whether Trump would address Bitcoin or crypto. Polymarket, a popular prediction market platform, saw bettors giving a 65 percent chance that “crypto” would be mentioned during the interview, with over $600,000 staked on the possibility. Additionally, another market on Polymarket allowed bettors to wager on the likelihood of “Bitcoin” being mentioned, with predictions peaking at 69 percent and approximately $330,000 on the line.
Polymarket’s structure allows users to earn $1 in USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, for each correct prediction. If the prediction does not come true, the wagered amount is lost. Interestingly, the platform did not include markets for mentions of other digital assets such as Ether, Solana, or Dogecoin, focusing solely on the likelihood of Bitcoin or crypto being part of the discussion.
As the interview progressed, it became clear that neither Bitcoin nor crypto would be mentioned, much to the disappointment of many in the community. One notable Polymarket user, known as ‘bama1234’, successfully predicted that Trump would avoid discussing crypto, leading to a substantial payout. The user walked away with just over $1 million, with $336,918 of that sum coming from the wager on Trump not mentioning “crypto.”
While the absence of Bitcoin and crypto in the discussion was a letdown for some, bettors on Polymarket found opportunities elsewhere. Trump’s use of specific words during the interview became a betting game, with participants wagering on terms they believed the former president would or would not say.
Among the words that garnered significant attention was “Tesla,” a term that peaked at 79 percent with over $250,000 wagered on its mention. However, Trump avoided the term, instead referring to Musk’s electric vehicle company as “your cars.” Other terms that saw heavy betting included “MAGA,” “illegal immigrant,” and “tampon,” all of which Trump did mention during the conversation. Despite this, ‘bama1234’ lost a bet on Trump saying “MAGA” and “Trans,” which were among the few terms where their prediction fell short.
The omission of Bitcoin and crypto from the interview has raised questions about the role of digital assets in the upcoming election. While Trump has previously engaged with the crypto community, including an appearance at the BTC 2024 conference in Nashville to announce his crypto policy, these issues continue to go unmentioned in mainstream political events.
The absence of Bitcoin and crypto from the conversation serves as a reminder that while these digital assets may be a growing force, their place in political discourse is still emerging. As the election season heats up, the crypto community will be watching closely to see if and when Bitcoin and crypto will take center stage in the discussions that shape the future of the United States.
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