God and Bitcoin: Inside the Christian Crypto Subculture — and Its Risks

The Subculture Takes Shape

In January 2026, Todd and Janet Gatewood launched a Nashville-based radio show called "God, Freedom and Bitcoin," blending cryptocurrency advocacy with their Christian faith, according to NBC News. The Gatewoods are part of a broader and accelerating trend: a Christian crypto subculture that includes financial influencers, entrepreneurs, and pastors actively promoting digital assets — primarily bitcoin — to their congregations and online audiences.

The movement spans several formats. Some churches, including Faith Hope & Charities Ministries in Chicago, are hosting cryptocurrency education sessions on their premises. Others allow congregants to tithe with digital coins. Blogs and social media accounts promote bitcoin as consistent with biblical teaching. An annual conference hosted by a nonprofit called Thank God for Bitcoin has nearly doubled in size since its first gathering in 2022, according to NBC News.

Key figures in the space include Jimmy Song, a bitcoin developer and co-author of a book called "Thank God for Bitcoin," who has more than 354,000 followers on X. Jebb McAfee, who describes himself on his YouTube channel "Crypto Jebb" as "a Christian who loves bitcoin and promotes financial sovereignty," has 248,000 subscribers, according to NBC News.

The Theological Case for Bitcoin

Proponents of Christian crypto make several distinct arguments, not all of them identical. Some frame bitcoin as a hedge against inflation rooted in what they view as government monetary mismanagement. Jimmy Song told NBC News that rising costs of living have led some Christians to question what's behind rising prices, and that for believers who conclude that expanding the money supply is the problem, bitcoin provides "a way to opt out of all the inflation and all of the shenanigans of the Federal Reserve, and the weird government spending."

Others in the movement point to what they describe as end-times theological interpretations that make digital currency relevant to biblical prophecy. Some cite a practical need for covert financial channels to support Christian missionaries in countries hostile to open religious practice. Still others frame it simply as a wealth-building tool that allows more time for worship, according to NBC News.

Janet Gatewood told listeners on her radio show: "This is what we call 'on sale.' Buy the dip. If you've ever heard anything in the bitcoin space, this is when you want to buy." Her comments came in a February 2026 episode after bitcoin's price had fallen significantly from its October high, as quoted by NBC News.

The Political Overlap

The Christian crypto movement has benefited from alignment at the highest levels of American politics. President Donald Trump, who won the evangelical vote in the 2024 presidential election, publicly promoted cryptocurrency. Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, a nondenominational pastor who offered a prayer at Trump's inauguration, announced the launch of his own crypto coin around that time, according to NBC News.

The coin quickly lost most of its value — a trajectory common to meme coins, which are cryptocurrency assets rapidly created and traded around cultural moments or personalities. Sewell said he doesn't know who created the coin bearing his name but acknowledged he promoted it. He told NBC News there is "a difference between creating wealth and scamming people," and said he used his profits to support children aging out of foster care.

The backlash to Sewell's coin on social media was significant. NBC News documented one commenter writing: "I enjoyed your prayer at the inauguration more than I can express. But somehow … I don't think Jesus would approve of this."

The Market Reality in 2026

Bitcoin was trading at approximately $69,000 as of late March 2026, according to NBC News — down roughly 45 percent from the $126,000 high it reached in October 2025. The cryptocurrency market more broadly has been under pressure from economic uncertainty and the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict.

The decline has tested the resolve of Christian crypto investors and influencers. McAfee, whose YouTube channel hosts hundreds of thousands of subscribers, faced sustained viewer criticism after the drop. Commenters posted that he "was wrong about everything" and accused him of only advising people to buy, never sell. McAfee was not available for comment, according to NBC News.

Jimmy Song, by contrast, has publicly maintained his position. Song posted on X in January 2026, while bitcoin was still higher: "If you can't hold at $75,000, you don't deserve it at $1,000,000," a statement referring to the conviction that holding through downturns is the correct strategy. Song told NBC News he and other bitcoin advocates believe those who "buy the dip" will ultimately benefit.

Alicia Tappin, 55, a Christian investor profiled by NBC News, said she had purchased more bitcoin during the downturn. "I'm not emotionally tied to it right now — if I was I would be a wreck," she told NBC News.

The Paid Membership Economy

A segment of the Christian crypto ecosystem operates on paid subscription models. Michelle Renee, founder and CEO of a company called In4ormative Services, charges $499 per year for a VIP membership that provides access to webinars, a "cryptocurrency watchlist," and a Telegram chat community, according to NBC News. The company presents its work through a Christian lens, and Renee has given cryptocurrency presentations at church facilities.

NBC News noted that figures like Renee and the Gatewoods are "quick not to label" what they share as financial advice — a legally significant distinction that separates informal advocacy from regulated investment advice. Whether that disclaimer is sufficient protection for consumers is not settled.

The Fraud Warning

Academic and legal observers are concerned that the structure of Christian crypto communities — built on networks of trust, shared religious identity, and social pressure — creates conditions that historically attract financial abuse.

William Schultz, a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, told NBC News: "Religious communities are often vulnerable to fraud because they are bound together by these networks of trust. I think our defenses are often lowered when there is someone who speaks our language, who in some cases dresses the same way we do — professes the same beliefs."

Colorado prosecutors provided a documented example. In a case cited by NBC News, investors lost more than $3 million after a pastor sold them a cryptocurrency he created, and prosecutors said he improperly kept at least $1.3 million of those funds for himself. The case illustrates what Schultz describes as the vulnerability of trust-based communities to what he termed affinity fraud.

The pattern draws a direct line from the long history of "prosperity gospel" preaching — in which religious leaders have been accused of using faith to extract financial contributions from followers — into the digital asset era. NBC News noted the parallels explicitly, observing that prominent televangelists have faced accusations of this kind for decades.

The Landscape Going Forward

There is no definitive survey measuring the total reach of cryptocurrency adoption within American Christian communities, NBC News reported. What is clear is directional: the annual Thank God for Bitcoin conference has grown substantially since 2022, church-based cryptocurrency education events are multiplying, and the intersection of evangelical political alignment with a pro-crypto White House has given the movement cultural permission it may not have had before.

Bitcoin itself remains an extraordinarily volatile asset. At its October 2025 peak, it was trading at $126,000; by late March 2026, it had lost nearly half that value. For investors who entered at the top following faith-based encouragement, the losses are real and significant — regardless of the theological framework offered as comfort.

The movement's advocates argue volatility is temporary and that long-term holding will vindicate their conviction. Critics argue that the combination of financial risk, limited disclosure, paid membership structures, and trust-based community dynamics creates a situation that regulators and consumers should watch carefully.