The Solana Foundation nixed an ad widely criticized for being anti-queer late Monday, nearly nine hours after seemingly invoking the culture wars as a mechanism to boost conference attendance.

The now-deleted spot imagines “America” in therapy. A human embodiment of the nation desperately wants to think big – about tech, crypto, space travel. But he can’t: his therapist wants him to “focus on pronouns” and on “coming up with new genders.”

“America, numbers are non-binary,” the therapist insists after chiding his “rational thinking syndrome.” America eventually snaps and yells out, “I want to invent technologies, not genders.

That the Solana Foundation – a Swiss nonprofit whose mission is to evangelize the Solana blockchain – would call upon right-wing talking points to promote its first U.S. conference sparked immediate controversy. Some influential voices within Solanaland called it pandering; others, offensive.

It’s also a reversal for an organization that previously called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) part of its “core values” and insisted attendees of its flagship event show respect to others regardless of gender.

Just weeks before President Donald Trump retook the White House in part on an anti-trans campaign, the foundation held a conference in Singapore. The event’s code of conduct prohibited “deliberate verbal or physical intimidation” based on “gender,” “gender identity and expression,” or other traits often lumped in with DEI. It threatened infractors with ejection and a ban from attending future events.

“The Solana Foundation is committed to the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect,” the Code of conduct read.

It’s not clear whether the Solana Foundation’s ad strategy also portends a shift in its “core values.” CoinDesk could not immediately locate the code of conduct for the upcoming event. A representative for the Solana Foundation did not return a request for comment.

Regardless, the ad threatened to thrust crypto deeper into partisan politics than many in the industry are comfortable with.

The crypto industry’s embrace of President Trump had previously been an exercise of single-issue alignment: Trump promised to embrace crypto, and the industry’s high-rollers hugged him back. The arrangement has left room for proponents to work alongside Democrats too, and many have.

That bargain may begin to fall apart if crypto loses its ostensibly bipartisan sheen.

Gold has been on a strong run, surpassing $3,000 for the first time last week, and now there are calls for even more upside for the precious metal prices.

Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital and colloquially known as the “Bond King” for his expertise in fixed-income markets, believes the rally is far from over and could see the precious metal top $4,000.

Speaking during a macroeconomic outlook presentation titled “Not in My Neighborhood,” Gundlach highlighted gold’s sustained price momentum alongside other commodities. Cryptocurrencies backed by the precious metal, including PAXG and XAUT, have been benefiting from its historic price rise.

“I think gold will make it to $4,000. I’m not sure that’ll happen this year, but I feel like that’s the measured move anticipated by the long consolidation at around $1,800 on gold,” Gundlach said.

Gold-backed cryptocurrencies have been outperforming the wider cryptocurrency market so far this year. While PAXG and XAUT are up roughly 14% year-to-date, bitcoin dropped 11.4% over the same period, and the broader CoinDesk20 Index retreated by over 25% in the same period. Gold ETFs last week have surpassed bitcoin ETFs in assets under management.

His prediction is rooted in shifting central bank strategies. Global central banks have been increasing their gold reserves, reversing a period in which their holdings were dwindling. The total amount of gold held globally, according to IMF data Gundlach presented, has climbed from a low of around 34 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDR) in 2010 to 40.9 billion SDR, reaching levels last seen between 1975 and 1980.

Special Drawing Rights are an international reserve asset the IMF created back in 1969, defined through a basket of currencies.

From $5 to $83,000 – The Digital Gold Rush Continues

Bitcoin has come a long way since trading at just $5.34 on Saint Patrick’s Day in 2012. Now, in 2025, the world’s largest digital currency has reached $83,223 on this holiday, marking a staggering 1,558,000% increase in just 13 years. With institutional adoption surging and supply remaining fixed, Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory appears stronger than ever.

A Look at Bitcoin’s Explosive Growth

Bitcoin’s price movements in the early years was anything but predictable. In just one year, from 2012 to 2013, BTC skyrocketed 780%, reaching $47. The next year, it surged again to $630, a 1,240% increase from 2013.

However, Bitcoin’s price swings have been sharp. By 2015, it had retraced to $290, but by 2017, it climbed to $1,180, and in just one more year, it hit $8,321—a 605% increase. Even after a pullback to $4,047 in 2019, the next five years saw Bitcoin go from $5,002 in 2020 to $83,223 in 2025.

2012 $5.34

2013: $47

2014: $630

2015: $290

2016: $417

2017: $1,180

2018: $8,321

2019: $4,047

2020: $5,002

2021: $56,825

2022: $41,140

2023: $26,876

2024: $68,845

2025: $83,223

Why Bitcoin’s Price Keeps Rising

Despite its volatility, Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory remains upward, driven by increasing demand and fixed supply. Unlike fiat currencies, which governments can print indefinitely, Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million coins. As more individuals, institutions, and even governments adopt Bitcoin, scarcity drives prices higher.

Several major factors are contributing to Bitcoin’s growing adoption in the last year:

The U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve – United States Senator Cynthia Lummis and Congressman Nick Begich both introduced legislation to green light the U.S. to purchase 1,000,000 BTC for their strategic reserves, further solidifying its legitimacy and causing other countries potential FOMO in.

Corporate Adoption – Companies like Strategy, Metaplanet, and Rumble continue adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets, treating it as a strategic reserve asset.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs – The approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S. has opened the floodgates for institutional investment, allowing hedge funds, pension funds, and retail investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin through regulated financial products.These ETFs have collectively purchased over 1 million BTC.

Halving – On April 19th, 2024, Bitcoin underwent its fourth halving event, where the block reward for those mining Bitcoin was cut in half from 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC per block. This decrease in the amount of daily new bitcoin issued on the market historically leads to an increase in the price of BTC. Bitcoin halvings occur roughly every 210,000 blocks (approximately every four years).

What’s Next?

With demand skyrocketing and supply shrinking due to upcoming Bitcoin halvings, Bitcoin seems poised to continue its historic rise in price. If history is any indicator, the best time to buy Bitcoin was years ago—the second-best time might be today.