Donald Trump pledged that, as president, he would end President Joe Biden’s “war on crypto.” Photo by Allison Dinner/EPA-EFE
July 27 (UPI) — Donald Trump addressed the biggest bitcoin conference of the year Saturday, promising to make the United States the “crypto capital” of the world if he wins in November.
Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville while he seeks to gather the funding and support for a win in November, Trump told the crowd of cryptocurrency fans that as president he would ensure the federal government never sells off its bitcoin holdings.
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“For too long our government has violated the cardinal rule that every bitcoiner knows by heart: Never sell your bitcoin,” Trump said during his keynote speech.
“This afternoon I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world and we’ll get it done.”
Trump seemed to have made a 180-degree turn on crypto compared to when he was president. In 2019, he said bitcoin was “not money” and “highly volatile and based on thin air.”
In a 2021 interview with Fox News, Trump said, “bitcoin just seems like a scam. I don’t like it because it’s another currency competing against the dollar.
“I want the dollar to be the currency of the world, that’s what I’ve always said.”
But the former president and Republican candidate on Saturday offered attendees the prospect of a future presidency that embraces crypto, compared to President Joe Biden‘s strict regulatory “war on crypto.”
“The Biden-Harris administration’s repression of crypto and bitcoin is wrong and it’s very bad for our country,” Trump said. “Let me tell you if they win this election, every one of you will be gone. They will be vicious. They will be ruthless. They will do things that you wouldn’t believe.”
Trump also pledged to fire Gary Gensler, the Biden-appointed chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission who has taken a hardline approach to crypto regulation, although the president doesn’t actually have the authority to fire appointed commissioners.
The former president is fully embracing the bitcoin hype despite public confidence plummeting due to recent revelations of widespread fraud.
His campaign now accepts bitcoin donations and has already amassed some $4 million worth of the speculative asset.
He’s also made a lot of friends in the crypto space. Billionaires and venture capitalists Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss each contributed 15.57 bitcoin — just over $1 million — to Trump’s reelection, although they received a partial refund, because their donation surpassed the $844,600 limit.
“It’s time for the crypto army to send a message to Washington,” Tyler Winklevoss wrote in an X post endorsing Trump. “That attacking us is political suicide.”
Venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz said they plan to make a significant donation to the Trump campaign as well, and venture investor David Sacks helped Trump raise $12 million at a fundraiser at his San Francisco home.
Other Republican figures have grabbed onto crypto as a key issue for this election, promising to cut away the red tape of the Biden-Harris administration.
Speaking at the conference on Friday, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said, “we want people, whether they love their dollars or they love their digital assets, we want them in charge of making their decisions.”
Crypto has experienced a renaissance after plummeting in the wake of the downfall of crypto exchange FTX and the arrest, trial and imprisonment of its founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Bankman-Fried wax sentenced in March to 25 years in prison for running a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme through his business ventures.
The price of bitcoin has since risen from the ashes of FTX to reach an all-time high as of June, and enthusiasm for crypto was through the roof.
Independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who addressed the conference on Friday, promised to go even further than Trump with the lofty promise of launching a 4 million bitcoin reserve and mandating the federal government purchase 550 bitcoin a day until the reserve is full.
