Tech
Trump Vows to Make US ‘Crypto Capital of the Planet and Bitcoin Superpower’
Speaking to a crowd of supporters at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump said that if elected, he would make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet and a Bitcoin superpower.”
Trump added that he would “appoint a Presidential Advisory Council on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies,” which would have 100 days to “design transparent regulatory guidance that will benefit the entire industry.”
Trump has publicly opposed cryptocurrencies until recently. His latest statements serve as a rallying cry for a tech industry that has long called for more flexible regulatory oversight.
Shortly after taking the stage, Trump spent several minutes naming some of the conference attendees, at one point describing Winklevoss Twins Cameron and Tyler as “male role models with big, beautiful brains.” The former president has continued to speak out against electric car mandates and called for more fossil-fuel burning power plants.
Trump also said he would order the United States to withhold all Bitcoin it currently owns “in the future.” The U.S. government reportedly holds billions of dollars in Bitcoin.
About three years ago, Trump called Bitcoin “a fraud“that is “competing against the dollar.” In February 2024, the former president said that establishing a central bank digital currency would represent a “dangerous threat to freedom.” Yet, in May, Trump declared that he was “good with [crypto]“, adding, “if you’re pro-cryptocurrency you’d better vote for Trump.” That same month, he said he would commute with the Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s Sentencingand his campaign said it would accept cryptocurrency donations.
Recent comments from Trump and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have helped make cryptocurrency regulation a major political issue in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. This comes as the SEC intensifies its scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, appointed by President Joe Biden, called the activity “full of fraud, scams, bankruptcies and money laundering.” Trump drew applause at the conference after promising to “fire” Gensler. (U.S. presidents have the power to appoint the heads of many federal commissions, including the SEC.)
With Biden out of the raceVice President Kamala Harris’s campaign advisers have He is said to have contacted to cryptocurrency leaders in an effort to “reset” relations with the industry. Harris’s campaign has not yet said whether her stance on the industry differs from Biden’s.