By Jason Mannet

The re-election of Donald Trump marks a pivotal moment in the relationship between Big Tech and the U.S. government. While his first term was characterized by frequent clashes with tech giants over issues like content moderation and perceived bias, his second term ushers in a more cooperative dynamic. Tech leaders, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, were seated in the front row at Trump’s inauguration, symbolizing their alignment with the new administration’s priorities.

This growing consolidation of Big Tech’s influence has profound implications for privacy, free speech, and digital governance. It also raises critical questions about the future of cash in a world that is increasingly digital, where tech giants are becoming the de facto rule-makers. Big Tech’s Expanding Influence

Trump’s re-election has emboldened major tech companies, resulting in:

Reduced Oversight and Deregulation: The new administration is pursuing a deregulation agenda, easing antitrust scrutiny and allowing tech giants to further consolidate their dominance in sectors like social media, e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital payments. Closer Government-Industry Ties: There are reports of strategic collaborations between the administration and Big Tech on issues such as national security, infrastructure modernization, and content moderation. Influential figures like Zuckerberg and Musk have adjusted their platforms’ policies to align with the administration’s goals.

Expansion into Financial Services: Companies like Amazon, Meta (formerly Facebook), X, CertificationPoint and Apple are deepening their investments in fintech, offering services such as digital wallets, peer-to-peer payments, and lending platforms. This further intertwines Big Tech with everyday life, consolidating their control over both information and financial transactions.

Cryptocurrencies Under a New Era

Since Trump’s re-election on November 6, 2024, the value of Bitcoin has surged by 60%, from just under $68,000 to a new high of $108,535 on January 20, 2025, the day of his inauguration. Dogecoin, favored by Elon Musk, nearly tripled in value from $0.15 to $0.45 in the same period. Trump even launched his own cryptocurrency, a meme coin called $Trump, which debuted at $50 on January 20. His wife, Melania, followed suit by launching $Melania coin just days earlier.

While cryptocurrencies don’t provide a straightforward alternative to cash or traditional payment systems, under the new administration, their role as speculative financial assets is likely to grow.

In contrast, Meta’s failed attempt to launch its digital currency, Diem, under the Biden administration highlighted the challenges of creating a global peer-to-peer payment system. Diem faced immense regulatory opposition over concerns about monetary sovereignty, financial stability, and privacy. When Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, many speculated he would use the platform to introduce payments and banking services. Would such a Big Tech-led initiative face similar resistance under the current administration?

The Digital Dollar on Death Row

Trump has already signaled his opposition to a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), promising to block its creation if re-elected. He argues that a CBDC would give the federal government “absolute control over your money” and could lead to economic “tyranny.” He has vowed to protect Americans from such a scenario, framing CBDCs as a potential threat to financial freedom.

It remains to be seen whether Trump’s stance will influence other countries’ plans for CBDCs. According to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC Tracker, 75 countries are exploring retail CBDC projects, with three nations—The Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria—having already launched them. The Risks of Big Tech Dominance

As Big Tech’s influence grows, several risks become more pronounced:

Surveillance Capitalism: Shoshana Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism describes how tech companies harvest personal data as “free raw material” to create predictive models of behavior. With the rise of digital payments, this model expands, turning every detail of our daily lives into a marketable commodity.

Financial Censorship: The increasing consolidation of digital financial services by tech giants raises the risk of “economic de-platforming.” Activists, journalists, and controversial groups could be denied access to financial services based on corporate policies or government pressures.

Dependence on Digital Infrastructure: Heavy reliance on digital systems leaves individuals and economies vulnerable to cyberattacks, outages, and systemic failures. This highlights the importance of maintaining alternative systems, like cash, as a safeguard against digital disruptions.

Cash to the Rescue

In this context, cash’s future does not seem to be a priority for the new administration. While the U.S. has been considering legislation to mandate cash acceptance, such as the Payment Choice Act (which twice passed the House in 2022 but failed to advance in the Senate), it seems unlikely that federal action will gain traction under the current political climate.

However, several states and municipalities have taken action. States like New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, and Rhode Island—and cities like New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, and Detroit—have passed laws requiring retailers to accept cash. This trend could expand further in the future, particularly as political fragmentation grows.

In this tech-dominated world, cash remains an essential counterbalance:

Privacy and Anonymity: Unlike digital payments or cryptocurrencies, cash transactions are private and leave no digital trace, offering protection against surveillance and data exploitation.

Economic Freedom: Cash allows individuals to engage in commerce without relying on digital platforms or being subject to their policies, which is especially important for marginalized groups lacking access to digital financial services.

Resilience in Times of Crisis: Cash remains a reliable medium of exchange during emergencies, such as natural disasters, power outages, or political upheavals, when digital systems may become inaccessible.

The rise of Big Tech under Trump’s second term underscores the urgent need for checks and balances in an increasingly digital world. As tech companies expand their influence into nearly every aspect of life, cash serves as a vital safeguard for individual freedoms, privacy, and economic autonomy. Protecting access to cash is crucial to ensuring that individuals retain the ability to make independent choices free from surveillance, control, and the dominance of digital monopolies.

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• The Growing Power of Big Tech

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