BTC briefly rose to $62,000 — this could be a reflection of how Biden’s stumbles may have deterred undecided voters from backing him, making a Trump win more likely.

After a flurry of feverish speculation that crypto would be discussed during the first U.S. presidential debate, it didn’t end up getting mentioned once.

But if we’re going to be brutally honest, this wouldn’t have generated many column inches anyway — especially considering the night was overshadowed by other events.

Joe Biden’s exceedingly poor performance on stage alongside Donald Trump has instead grabbed the spotlight.

The 81-year-old confused billionaires with trillionaires, appeared to freeze within the first few minutes, and abruptly changed topics while giving answers.

It undoubtedly fuels searing questions about whether the Democrat would be up to the job if he was re-elected president in November.

Even members of his own party described the debate as an “unmitigated disaster” and a “slow-moving car crash.”

And while senior officials attempted to put a brave face on things — insisting Biden had nothing more than a cold — there are now growing calls for someone else to run in his place.

For its part, Bitcoin didn’t seem to mind being omitted from proceedings. If anything, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency enjoyed an uptick in value during the debate, briefly topping $62,000. 

This could be a reflection of how the president’s continuous stumbles may have deterred undecided voters from backing him in the fall. 

Prediction markets showed a sharp and sudden shift in the aftermath of the CNN debate.

Zooming in on the issue of crypto specifically, and a Trump win is widely regarded as a good thing for the digital assets sector.

He’s repeatedly vowed to introduce a slew of pro-Bitcoin policies if granted a second term, and has pocketed millions of dollars in donations as a result.

But some critics have raised questions about whether Trump’s simply telling the crypto community what it wants to hear.

What’s more, analysts have repeatedly warned that a Republican victory would ultimately fuel inflation and shift the economy back into reverse — jitters that could ultimately harm BTC too.

Beyond the bizarre bickering about golf handicaps, Biden did manage to point out that Trump has problems of its own… not least because he’s now a felon.

Convicted of falsifying business records over payments made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, he’s due to be sentenced on July 11 — and this could derail his campaign.

Donations keep flooding in

It’s pretty rare to see a TV debate move the dial as dramatically as this one has.

A snap poll by CNN after it finished shows that 67% believed Trump delivered a better performance on the night.

That’s a sharp contrast to four years ago, when Biden was crowned the victor. 

The shifting political momentum is already leading to a round of fresh donations from crypto heavyweights.

Hours after the debate, Kraken chairman Jesse Powell announced that he had donated $1 million, most of it in Ether, to Trump’s campaign. Accusing the Biden administration of allowing “a campaign of unchecked regulation by enforcement,” he wrote on X:

“I am excited to join other leaders from our community to unite behind the only pro-crypto major party candidate in the 2024 presidential election so the United States can continue to remain a leader in blockchain technology.”

Donald Trump

What’s next?

Trump may be 78 himself, but he’s now going to waste little time in continually pushing the argument that Biden is too old to be president.

On Truth Social, he’s already shared a video showing some of the president’s slips and falls — candidly asking: “Will he make it four years?” 

Even Democrats now want to return to the drawing board, but it’s unclear how the party would achieve this given many state primaries have already been held. One lawmaker told the Financial Times that the president must step aside, adding:

“Many House Democrats tonight, representing a wide cross-section of the Democratic caucus, were privately texting one another that Biden needs to announce he’s decided not to run for re-election. We need a new nominee.”

This isn’t an issue that’s going to go away for Biden overnight — especially considering that there’s another debate due to take place in September.