The Republican front-runner for president pledged to elevate the United States to the forefront of bitcoin technology.
Tennessee’s Nashville Should he be elected, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged to lead the world in bitcoin and other digital currencies, comparing the cryptocurrency space to “the steel industry of 100 years ago.”
Standing room only During his speech at the annual Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump pledged to make America “the crypto capital of the planet and bitcoin superpower of the world.”
In contrast to the Biden administration and other Democrats, whom he said had shown to be inimical to their cause, Trump positioned himself as a proponent of cryptocurrency.
To thunderous cheers from the Nashville audience, Trump declared that if elected, he would remove Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, from his position. Because of Gensler’s agency’s decisions regarding digital tokens and legal actions against bitcoin exchanges, the cryptocurrency community has come to see Gensler as its main adversary in politics.
“I’ll name a chairman of the SEC who will create the future, not destroy it,” Trump declared.
His acceptance of cryptocurrencies coincides with high-profile endorsements from proponents such as Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, and twin siblings Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who created the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange and are most known for suing Mark Zuckerberg over the birth of Facebook.
Though he was aware of the novelty of his attendance at the conference, Trump’s comments serve to further solidify his connection with other right-leaning personalities in the tech industry. He called the crowd “geniuses” and said he was still learning about cryptocurrency.
He joked, “Most people have no idea what the hell it is.” What occurs then when everyone understands it? That will certainly be noteworthy.
Though he didn’t provide many specifics, Trump floated the idea of establishing a national bitcoin “stockpile” that would act as a “permanent national asset.”
Supporters of bitcoin have rapidly come around to the notion of setting up a strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential contender, also suggested on Friday to establish a bitcoin reserve. He said he would order the Treasury to buy 4 million bitcoins, which at current rates would be worth around $272 billion.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, declared she would propose a measure to establish the reserve immediately after Trump’s speech.
However, following Trump’s statements on Saturday, the price of bitcoin marginally decreased, possibly as a result of cryptocurrency speculators’ unfulfilled hopes for a more firm commitment from the presidential candidate on the reserve notion.
Trump’s remarks accentuated an event whose political panelists leaned Republican, including four serving GOP senators and three GOP Senate hopefuls, despite the Bitcoin Conference’s proclaimed apolitical nature.
In an early speech on Saturday, California Representative Ro Khanna, the lone elected Democrat, denounced the party’s propensity to further solidify established financial hubs.
“I had assumed that Democrats disliked monopolistic power. At a panel on Saturday, Khanna stated, “We don’t want the banks and the Fed to have a monopoly on fast payments.”
Bitcoin Magazine revealed shortly after his morning speech that a number of Democratic lawmakers and candidates had written the Democratic National Committee, pleading the party officials to embrace cryptocurrency more.
Representatives from purple districts in important swing states like Arizona and North Carolina signed the letter in addition to Khanna.
The signatories said that the “hostility” of the present government did not align with “our Party’s progressive, forward-looking, and inclusive values.”
They stated, “A renewed leader of the ticket offers a chance to alter that perception.”
During the conference, Khanna spoke with NBC News in a follow-up interview, stating that Democrats’ goal of becoming “the party of the future” would be in line with their good interactions with the cryptocurrency community.
Khanna remarked, “They’re mobilized, they’re passionate, and they’re active on social media.” “And a community will cast ballots.”
According to conference organizers, Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, turned down an offer to speak at the event. Despite Harris’ absence on X, conference chairman David Bailey attacked the organizers’ decision to remain silent on the issue. The Harris campaign is silent.
Bailey stated in an interview with NBC News on Friday that although Harris was not present at the conference, Democrats were still able to get the support of the cryptocurrency community.
He declared, “There’s a whole progressive case for bitcoin.” Bailey stated that although that reasoning might not have gotten as much attention, “my intuition is, over the next four years, it will.”
According to anonymous sources cited by the Financial Times on Saturday, Harris had contacted leading cryptocurrency businesses in an attempt to “reset” their relationship.
Bailey predicted that eventually, engaging with bitcoin supporters as a political group will become politically imperative for all political parties.
He remarked, “It’s not too late; in fact, everyone will have to accept it.” “Otherwise, they won’t be viable.”
Early on Saturday, pro-Trump bitcoin fans demonstrated outside the convention.
Ohioan Chad Kozman wore a shirt that read “Free Ross/Vote Trump,” alluding to the community’s want for Trump to fulfill his campaign pledge to commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s life sentence for narcotics and money laundering offenses.
While Kozman told NBC News that Trump’s outreach to the cryptocurrency community was opportunistic, he also saw it as an indication that the movement had evolved from its individualistic beginnings to become a significant voting bloc.
“It’s been a really difficult road for the bitcoin community to get people to see the benefits of collectivization and pulling together,” the speaker stated.
