Trump Endorses Bitcoin Addressing Crypto’s Largest Convention
A while ago, Donald Trump would have made for a strange headliner at a cryptocurrency event. As president, Trump declared Bitcoin ‘not money’ and vehemently criticized it as a highly volatile asset based on ‘thin air.’ He said that crypto assets helped facilitate illicit underground and black markets.
Trump wrote on Twitter in 2019:
“We have only one real currency in the USA, stronger than ever. It is called the United States Dollar!”
But on July 27, 2024, Trump addressed the crypto sector’s biggest annual event in Nashville. This time, he was not a critic but one of Bitcoin and crypto’s renowned supporters. This is the peak of a reversal on the issue during Trump’s latest White House bid.
Despite crypto’s recent volatile history and the former president’s past opinions, Trump has adopted the hype and hopes of the budding sector. On that note, his campaign now accepts Bitcoin donations and has accumulated nearly $4 million worth, according to a reliable source with knowledge about his fundraising.
He insists that the Biden administration’s efforts to regulate the sector are a “war on crypto” without acknowledging the large fraud schemes that have compromised public confidence in digital currencies. Notably, he has vowed as president to make it manageable for crypto mining firms to operate in the US.
The sector has embraced Trump with its investors and leaders donating millions of dollars to his campaign and aligned political events and committees. They have endorsed his candidacy to their large online audiences and gave him a platform to speak directly to the 20,000 attendees of 2024’s Bitcoin Conference.
Tech writer Jacob Silverman, author of the “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud” book said:
“A lot of these people consider themselves single-issue voters. If Trump or anyone else says they’re pro-bitcoin, which matters to them.”
During the convention, Trump made several crypto-friendly policy commitments, including pledging to sack Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and to come up with a “strategic national bitcoin stockpile,” all part of his increasing campaign promises to encourage the growth of the sector in the United States.
Trump added:
“If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted, and made in the USA.”
Trump Now Supports The Highly Volatile Crypto Sector
Since Trump publicly opposed Bitcoin in 2019, the volatile sector has encountered lots of turbulence, especially with the arrest trial and imprisonment of the founder of the FTX exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried. Bankman was sentenced to 25 years for running a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme using his firms.
Trump’s campaign is yet to say what pushed his turnaround on crypto, and he has not addressed the criticisms of crypto and other digital currencies: lack of practical, real-world use for it apart from being a highly speculative investment.
His campaign spokesman Brian Hughes said:
“Crypto innovators and others in the technology sector are under attack from Democrats.”
On his part, the former president was ready to encourage the American leadership in crypto and other emerging technologies.
Crypto leaders have courted Trump for months and have been educating his campaign team on policy agendas and an opportunity to sway voters to the crypto agenda, as explained by David Bailey, the CEO of bitcoin-focused media company BTC Inc. Bailey acknowledged that their pitch included the amount of industry backing he can get.
Support for Trump has been overwhelming with Billionaire crypto tycoons Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss pledging to donate $2 million worth of Bitcoin to Trump’s campaign. The Federal Election Commission now allows political committees to receive Bitcoin contributions, with the value determined by the price when these contributions are made.
Crypto was also a discussion topic in a recent fundraising episode through Silicon Valley that Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, helped arrange. The fundraiser was held at the home of billionaire tech entrepreneur David Sacks, a prominent crypto champion.
Crypto And Politics
Leaders and champions of the crypto space have become majorly political, helping in bankrolling super PACs that have increasingly supported Republicans over Democrats. While endorsing Trump, Tyler Winklevoss wrote in a long social media post:
“It’s time for the crypto army to send a message to Washington. That attacking us is political suicide.”
A political adviser to major crypto firms, Eric Soufer, said that people committed to cryptos who were ousted from power after the Bankman-Fried episode are seeking political validation after several years in the wilderness. Soufer added:
“They believe now is their moment, and it’s hard to resist someone who is telling them everything they want to hear.”
The crypto sector is resurging after the FTX implosion. After the crypto winter in 2022, Bitcoin’s price has recovered to hit an all-time high in 2024. Enthusiasm around 2024’s Nashville event was high with independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also addressing the convention on July 26.
Nonetheless, many Americans have expressed fears about crypto even as more people know more about it. A 2023 Pew Research survey discovered that almost 90% of adults had heard of cryptos, and 75% did not think it was safe or reliable.
However, Trump’s newfound support of crypto voters comes in line with other strategies to find new numbers in unconventional places. Earlier in 2024, Trump courted Libertarian Party members at their annual convention, promising to “support the right to self-custody to the nation’s 50 million crypto holders.” There is a massive link between Libertarians and the crypto community.
Trump supporters were many inside the Bitcoin Conference. A 61-year-old from Atlanta, John Fischer, a crypto investor since 2021, said he voted for Trump in 2020 and plans to do it again in 2024. But, he said Trump was trying to warm up to crypto investors to get more votes.
A 25-year-old Michigander crypto space worker, Luke Broyles, was unsure of Trump’s recent entreaties despite his rhetoric. Broyles stated:
“I think there is a good bit of skepticism that Bitcoin people have. I think that’s reasonable. Ultimately, people are in Bitcoin because they don’t trust politicians.”
Despite everything, Trump supports Bitcoin and crypto, a stance that might not change during his bid to win the US presidency in 2024.
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