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 for his speech at the annual Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump pledged to make America “the global superpower of bitcoin and the center of the cryptocurrency industry.”
Trump positioned himself as a champion for cryptocurrencies in opposition to other Democrats and the Biden administration, whom he claimed to be unsupportive of their cause.
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 cryptocurrency 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 audience “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 remarks on Saturday, the price of bitcoin marginally decreased, possibly as a result of cryptocurrency traders’ unfulfilled expectations 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 candidates, 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 centers.
“I had assumed that Democrats disliked monopoly power. At a panel on Saturday, Khanna stated, “We oppose the Fed and banks having a monopoly on quick 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 leaders 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 claimed that the “hostility” of the present administration 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 positive interactions with the cryptocurrency community.
Khanna remarked, “They are enthusiastic, engaged on social media, and mobilized.” “And there will be voting by a community.”
According to conference organizers, Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, turned down an invitation to speak at the event. Despite Harris’ absence on X, conference head 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 gain 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 companies 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 wish 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.
“The bitcoin community has found it extremely challenging to persuade people of the advantages of collectivization and banding together,” the speaker stated.