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 to key positions such as US Treasury Secretary, US SEC Chairman, and White House Crypto Czar, some "key people" in secret are the decisive weight that cannot be ignored, including Peter Thiel.
When it comes to Peter Thiel, many people may immediately think of the PayPal mafia, venture capital moguls, and Silicon Valley godfather-like figures, but what cannot be ignored is his low-key yet influential political involvement.
If Elon Musk is the protagonist of the "Trump Trading" drama, then Peter Thiel is more like a strategist hidden behind the scenes - his presence is everywhere, and it is very likely that he will affect the voice and decision-making participation of technology capital in American politics and even the world in the next four years or even longer .
Peter Thiel: The Capital and Political Advocate for Vice President-elect JD Vance
In 2011, Peter Thiel criticized society’s blind pursuit of traditional career paths in a speech at Yale Law School, emphasizing that technological innovation should solve practical problems rather than pursue superficial prosperity. These remarks deeply touched JD Vance, a student present at the time, and prompted him to rethink his career plan.
Influenced by Peter Thiel, JD Vance gave up his traditional legal career and joined Peter Thiel's venture capital firm Mithril Capital, where he began to get involved in venture capital. During this period, JD Vance wrote his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy", which detailed his growing up experience in a working-class family in Ohio.
After the book was published in 2016, it quickly became a bestseller and was considered to reveal the mentality of Trump supporters (Rust Belt workers, social conservatives, anti-globalization middle class, etc.).
Interestingly, as Trump's deputy today, JD Vance's works attracted widespread attention at the time and made him a rising star in the political arena. However, he was actually critical of Trump at first. It was only with the introduction of Peter Thiel that JD Vance gradually established contact with Trump:
Not only did Peter Thiel arrange a meeting between the two at Trump's Mar-a-Lago, he also provided important support for JD Vance's political career - he donated $15 million to the super PAC supporting JD Vance, which once set the record for the largest donation to a single Senate candidate.
It was also with Peter Thiel's support that JD Vance was successfully elected as a senator from Ohio in 2022, and in 2024 Trump announced JD Vance as his vice presidential running mate (JD Vance becoming a running mate is a long-term move or even a backup piece). This reflects Peter Thiel's key role in shaping JD Vance's political career, and also reflects the influence of some conservative forces in Silicon Valley in American politics.
However, this is not just a story about one person's political intrigue, but a story about structural shocks and interest games within the entire capitalist system.
Capital power reshuffle: New Money versus Old Money
Overall, this year's US presidential election is more like the prelude to a power reshuffle within capitalism. The "New Money" represented by Silicon Valley's technology upstarts is challenging the "Old Money" represented by Wall Street, or more accurately, is competing for greater voice and the right to distribute benefits.
The rise of Silicon Valley's upstarts is not accidental. Over the past decade, emerging fields represented by AI and Crypto have become engines of economic growth. These emerging industries emphasize efficiency, innovation, and decentralization, and calling for "less regulation" has become a common appeal. From Web3 to AI, "decentralization" and "liberalization" have become their core narratives. This vision is simple and attractive:
Higher technological efficiency, more capital flows, and perhaps even a redefinition of the rules of wealth creation.
This easily reminds people of the contradiction between the BRICS countries and the existing international governance structure. However, as the main beneficiaries of the international trade system, the BRICS countries are more seeking to achieve redistribution within the rules rather than completely overthrowing the existing order. This gradual "reform" path is, to some extent, a challenge to maintaining stability.
In contrast, the demands of the Silicon Valley upstarts are completely different. They do not want to fight for a fairer distribution of resources under the existing rules, but rather try to reshape the rules themselves. For example, they hope to promote a capitalism with "less regulation" centered on "efficiency". Therefore, for these emerging forces, regulation and rules mean constraints, which 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 dominant position of technology giants and capital giants - technologies such as AI and Crypto will concentrate wealth more efficiently, accelerating the widening gap between the rich and the poor, while also further marginalizing the interests of Trump's base, such as traditional industrial workers.
This internal contradiction may become the deep-seated driving force behind the division of American society in the future.
The balance between old and new forces: a key decision for the future
From a longer-term perspective, whether the American 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 final direction of this power reshuffle.
For "Old Money", they need to adapt more flexibly to the social changes brought about by new technologies, but at the same time defend their core position in rule-making. For "New Money", they need to convince the wider society to accept the cost of wealth redistribution brought about 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 have a profound impact on the future direction of global capitalism. This may also be a microcosm of the transformation of global capitalism. In short, a new era of more globalized capital and technology-driven is approaching, and the key lies in how to redefine the distribution model of power, resources and rules.
Crypto and AI will undoubtedly be the main battlefields. In addition to crypto projects personally invested by Peter Thiel such as Arkham, Infinex, and Polymarket, the entire Crypto field is not only a symbol of so-called decentralized finance and capital liberalization, but also a key tool for Silicon Valley technology capital to fight back against traditional finance and reshape the rules .
Because of this, the future is full of opportunities. Whether it is AI, Crypto, or other emerging fields, their core narratives remain attractive: freedom, efficiency, and innovation. This process will also test whether all parties can find a compromise in conflicting interests.
From "Trump Trading" to Peter Thiel's behind-the-scenes layout, what we are seeing is not just an election, but also a battle for future rules. This is destined to be a profound contest over resources, power and rules.
