Trump ally Charlie Kirk was assassinated, and the crypto community lost its most powerful "sales king"

Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative media figure and close ally of Donald Trump, was assassinated on September 10, 2025, during a debate at Utah Valley University. His death sent shockwaves through U.S. politics and the cryptocurrency community, where he was a pivotal advocate.

Kirk founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), building a massive media and political network that championed anti-establishment values, which deeply resonated with the crypto ethos of decentralization and distrust of centralized power.
He became a key cultural bridge, aligning conservative principles like individual freedom and skepticism of big government with core cryptocurrency narratives, including opposition to financial censorship and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
Kirk played a crucial role in translating high-level political support, including from Trump, into grassroots momentum for pro-crypto legislation, helping advance bills like the FIT21 Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act during Congress's "Crypto Week" in July 2025.
His assassination creates a significant power vacuum, as he was a unique figure who effectively communicated complex crypto concepts to mainstream audiences and tied digital asset freedom to conservative cultural values. His death is seen as a major loss for the political momentum of cryptocurrency in the U.S.

Author: Cole

On September 10, 2025, in a sunny courtyard at Utah Valley University, Charlie Kirk was doing what he did best: debating. Suddenly, a gunshot pierced the din. A bullet, striking from a distance, struck him squarely in the neck. Kirk collapsed instantly. The 31-year-old conservative media mogul and close ally of Donald Trump had been assassinated on the battlefield he knew best.

This incident shocked the United States, but within the world of cryptocurrency, it triggered a more complex and profound earthquake. To many outside the community, Kirk was a polarizing figure. However, for the growing cryptocurrency community, his role was much more than that. He was an invaluable ally, a powerful amplifier, and a key figure in propelling Bitcoin and the concept of decentralization from a niche hobby in the tech world to the heart of American politics.

Kirk's death is more than the fall of a politician; it's the birth of a crypto "martyr." To understand how he could exert such enormous influence in a field seemingly unrelated to him, we need to trace his rise—a story of rebellion, network building, and ideological convergence. At its core, this story bears striking resemblance to the spiritual core of cryptocurrency: a radical distrust of the existing system and a relentless pursuit of individual sovereignty and freedom.

01From dropout to rising political star

Charlie Kirk's legend began with a classic cryptocurrency decision: abandoning the traditional path for an unproven one. In 2012, at the age of 18, Kirk turned down his college acceptance letter and, at the encouragement of Tea Party member Bill Montgomery, co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA). Like many startups, TPUSA had a rocky start until a $10,000 check from conservative donor Foster Friess became the organization's seed round.

Kirk's experience is full of elements that are admired in the crypto world: a young founder, a disdain for traditional institutions, and the ability to attract early supporters through a clear "white paper" (the mission of TPUSA). Instead of entering the "ivory tower" of the establishment, he chose to build his own "application" directly on the "public chain" of thought.

Over the next decade, he built TPUSA into a vast, efficient, and highly networked political and media machine. By the time of his death, TPUSA claimed influence on more than 3,500 campuses nationwide and annual revenue exceeding $92.4 million.

He built a multi-layered ecosystem, including Turning Point Action, a US-based organization focused on political mobilization. Through his podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show, which garners hundreds of thousands of views daily, he established a direct communication channel that bypassed the centralized filters of mainstream media. This model of bypassing traditional authority and engaging directly with the community is a core principle of blockchain technology, and it also laid the groundwork for his future connections with the equally subversive crypto community.

02When conservatism meets cryptocurrency

Charlie Kirk's connection to cryptocurrency wasn't a chance political speculation, but rather a profound ideological resonance. He discovered that the core values he had championed for years—individual freedom, anti-establishment sentiment, and wariness of centralized power—aligned almost perfectly with the ethos of the cryptocurrency community. He became a cultural bridge connecting these two forces.

Common enemy: centralized hegemony

Kirk's entire political career has been built on a critique of centralized institutions, whether they be the federal government, the mainstream media, academia, or large tech companies. This worldview aligns perfectly with the birthplace of cryptocurrency. The emergence of Bitcoin itself was a response to the failures of centralized financial institutions during the 2008 financial crisis. For Kirk and cryptocurrency believers, they face the same "enemy": a centralized system controlled by a small elite, opaque, and prone to abuse.

Fear of financial censorship

One of the core fears of the crypto community is financial censorship and platform bans. This is precisely the threat Kirk foresaw. As early as 2018, he warned: "If all payment processors decided to unite and shut down their services in a single day, our way of life would completely collapse and chaos would ensue."

These remarks could almost be considered the ultimate commentary on the value of cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin. They accurately point out the fragility of relying on centralized financial intermediaries. When platforms like PayPal and Stripe can freeze accounts based on political affiliation, a censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer value transfer system becomes crucial. Kirk's remarks make him the most direct political spokesperson for cryptocurrency's "use case."

“Sound Money” and the US Dollar Crisis

Kirk's public support for cryptocurrencies was most clearly on display during his appearance on the popular podcast "The Iced Coffee Hour," where he offered his take on Bitcoin and delved into the national debt problem and the dollar crisis.

He positions Bitcoin as a hedge against uncontrolled government money printing and the declining purchasing power of the US dollar. This view aligns perfectly with Bitcoin's narrative as "digital gold"—a store of value resistant to inflation due to its fixed supply of 21 million coins. He embraces the principles of "sound money," a cornerstone of beliefs shared by both Austrian economists and Bitcoin maximalists.

The war on CBDCs

If Bitcoin is a symbol of freedom, then central bank digital currencies, in the eyes of Kirk and many cryptocurrency supporters, are the embodiment of digital shackles. The conservative movement, particularly under Trump, has made opposition to CBDCs a core agenda. They argue that CBDCs would grant governments unprecedented surveillance and control capabilities, allowing them to track and even restrict every consumer purchase.

While Kirk didn't leave behind extensive direct writing on CBDCs, his consistent opposition to excessive government intervention made him a natural leader of the anti-CBDC camp. He was able to translate the technical risks of CBDCs into the cultural war language of freedom and control accessible to ordinary people. By melding these issues, Kirk successfully elevated cryptocurrency from a simple financial asset into a crucial weapon in the conservative culture war.

03From Evangelist to Crypto Legislative Promoter

At the height of Kirk's political influence, Washington's attitude toward cryptocurrency was undergoing a fundamental shift. Bitcoin, once dismissed as a "scam," was becoming a serious political issue under the Trump administration. Trump himself pledged to make the United States the "cryptocurrency capital of the world," and Kirk was key in translating this high-level vision into grassroots support.

In July 2025, Congress declared a historic "Crypto Week," aiming to pass a series of landmark bills to provide a clear regulatory framework for digital assets. These bills include:

The GENIUS Act provides a legal framework for stablecoins pegged to the US dollar, aiming to enhance their transparency and reliability.

The CLARITY Act and the FIT21 Act aim to clearly define whether digital assets are “securities” under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or “commodities” under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This distinction is crucial for the compliance operations of the entire industry.

The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act: aims to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing CBDC at the legislative level in response to people's concerns about financial privacy and government surveillance.

The passage of these bills marks the cryptocurrency industry's final exit from the legal "gray area." For institutional investors, this means reduced legal risks and a clearer path to compliance. For ordinary users, this means enhanced consumer protection.

In this process, Kirk's role is not that of a legislator, but rather that of a "battlefield commander." He has used his massive media platform and appeal to young voters to create strong public support and political pressure for these pro-cryptocurrency policy agendas.

As Vice President J.D. Vance said at a Bitcoin conference, the active participation of the cryptocurrency community has "changed the trajectory of our country." Kirk was the core engine of this political mobilization. He translated the complex legislative debates in Washington into slogans that the MAGA base could understand and support, effectively tying cryptocurrency freedom to core conservative values.

04The Last Broadcast and the Unfinished Legacy

Kirk's life ended in a debate about a core contradiction in American society. Before he was shot, he was discussing mass shootings and gun violence with a student. His last words were, "Does it count as gang violence or not?" This dramatic ending forever cemented his death at the forefront of America's culture wars.

His assassination left a massive power vacuum within the pro-cryptocurrency conservative movement. He wasn't just a voice; he was a man of action with a vast organizational and media network. No single figure possessed his combination of youthful image, powerful media influence, mature organizational infrastructure, and direct access to the heart of power (Trump).

For the cryptocurrency industry, Kirk's departure represents the loss of one of its most effective translators. He was able to convey the complex concept of decentralization to millions of ordinary people who might otherwise have known nothing about cryptocurrency in simple, powerful, and passionate language. He elevated the act of holding Bitcoin from an investment choice to a political statement and cultural identity.

Charlie Kirk's life was rife with contradictions and controversy. Yet, it's undeniable that this college dropout, who never wrote a line of code or founded a crypto project, became one of the most unexpected and powerful forces propelling cryptocurrency into mainstream American politics. His story is one of how an outsider, through building his own network and upholding his convictions, ultimately shook up traditional power structures. This, in itself, is a profound expression of the crypto spirit.