NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Republican presidential candidate donald trump promised to make America the world leader in bitcoin and other digital currencies if elected, comparing the cryptoverse to “the steel industry of 100 years ago.”
Speaking at the Annual Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, to a standing-room-only crowd, Trump promised to ensure that America becomes “the crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world.”
Trump has painted himself as a supporter of encryption, in contrast to the Biden administration and other Democrats, who he said have been hostile to his cause.
Trump said — to enthusiastic applause from the Nashville crowd — that if elected, he would fire current Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, whom the crypto world has come to view as his main opponent in government due to his agency’s decisions on digital tokens and lawsuits against bitcoin exchanges.
“I will nominate an SEC Chairman who will build the future, not block the future,” Trump said.
Its embrace of crypto comes amid high-profile endorsements from bitcoin advocates, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twin brothers best known for suing Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook and who founded the exchange. of Gemini cryptocurrencies.
Trump’s remarks are expected to further cement his growing alliance with other right-wing figures in the technology world, although the novelty of his appearance at the conference did not go unnoticed. While praising the audience as “geniuses,” he acknowledged that he was still learning about cryptography.
“Most people have no idea what the hell this is,” he joked. “So what happens when everyone finds out? That will be something.
Trump put forward a proposal to create a national bitcoin “stockpile” that he said would serve as a “permanent national asset,” although he did not provide many details.
The idea of creating a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies quickly became popular among Bitcoin supporters. On Friday, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also proposed creating a bitcoin reserve, saying he would instruct the Treasury to purchase 4 million bitcoins, which at today’s prices would equate to approximately $272 billion. .
Immediately after Trump’s comments, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, said she would introduce a bill to create the reservation.
However, the price of bitcoin fell slightly following Trump’s comments on Saturday, perhaps reflecting crypto traders’ unmet expectations for a more definitive commitment on the presidential candidate’s reserve idea.
Although the Bitcoin Conference is officially apolitical, Trump’s speech punctuated an event whose political speakers leaned Republicanincluding four incumbent Republican senators and three Republican Senate candidates.
The only Democrat elected, Representative from California. Ro Khannaspoke on Saturday and criticized the trend within his own party to further consolidate traditional financial centers.
“I thought Democrats were opposed to monopoly power. …We don’t want banks and the Fed to have a monopoly on fast payments,” Khanna said on a panel Saturday.
Shortly after his morning comments, Bitcoin Magazine reported that a group of Democratic representatives and candidates sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee urging party leaders to be more supportive of encryption.
In addition to Khanna, the letter’s signatories included representatives in purple districts in battleground states like North Carolina and Arizona.
The “hostility” of the current administration, the signatories said, does not reflect “our Party’s progressive, progressive and inclusive values”.
“A renewed ticket leader represents an opportunity to change this perception,” they wrote.
In a follow-up interview with NBC News at the conference, Khanna said positive engagement with the crypto community would be in line with Democrats’ desire to be “the party of the future.”
“They are passionate, active on social media and mobilized,” said Khanna. “And it’s a community that’s going to vote.”
Conference organizers say Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris declined their invitation to attend the conference. Organizers declined to comment further on the matter, although conference chief David Bailey criticized Harris‘ absence in X. Harris’ campaign did not comment.
In an interview with NBC News on Friday, Bailey said that despite Harris not appearing at the conference, the window had not closed on Democrats’ ability to win support from the crypto community.
“There’s a whole progressive argument for bitcoin,” he said. While this reasoning may not have received as much attention, Bailey said, “my gut feeling is that within the next four years it will happen.”
On Saturday, the Financial Times reported Harris approached major crypto firms seeking a “reset” of relationships, citing unnamed sources.
Bailey said it would eventually become a political necessity for all political parties to engage with bitcoin supporters as a political bloc.
“It’s not too late – in fact, everyone will have to come to terms with it,” he said. “They won’t be viable otherwise.”
Outside the conference early Saturday, pro-Trump bitcoin supporters made their presence known.
Chad Kozman, an Ohio resident, wore a “Free Ross/Vote Trump” shirt, referencing the community’s desire to see Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht sentenced to life in prison on drug and money laundering charges commuted, something Trump promised he would.
Kozman told NBC News that while Trump’s overtures to the crypto community were opportunistic, it was also a sign that the community had matured beyond its individualistic roots and become a voting group that needed to be reckoned with.
“For the bitcoin community, it has been a very difficult road to get people to see the benefits of collectivization and unity,” he said.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
