Donald Trump is courting votes from cryptocurrency investors by promising to turn the United States into a “Bitcoin superpower” with much less regulation.
The former president even offered them a high-profile head of government when he gave a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on Saturday.
“On day one, I’m going to fire Gary Gensler,” he told the crowd, referring to the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Trump received so much applause from the crowd that he repeated his promise, adding: “I didn’t know he was that unpopular.”
Gensler would be replaced by someone friendly to crypto investors and would create a cryptocurrency advisory board to craft regulatory guidance.
Donald Trump is courting votes from cryptocurrency investors by promising to turn the US into a “Bitcoin superpower” with much less regulation
The price of Bitcoin fell to below $67,000 as soon as Trump began speaking, but rose to $69,000 over the next hour as investors listened to his pro-cryptocurrency speech.
Trump has made numerous promises to turn the United States into the “crypto capital” of the world, in contrast to President Joe Biden’s efforts to heavily regulate it.
“I promise the Bitcoin community that the day I am sworn in, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ anti-crypto crusade will be over. It will be over. It will be done,” he said.
“The moment you take the oath, the persecution will cease and the use of weapons against your industry will end.”
He warned that if Vice President Harris won, “you’re all going to disappear. You’re going to be cruel. You’re going to be ruthless. You’re going to do things you wouldn’t believe.”
“Kamala is worse than Joe, she is a radical, a lunatic, she is against cryptocurrencies. We are now living a little honeymoon period,” he added.
Trump’s embrace of cryptocurrencies marks a stark change from just three years ago, when he opposed them, and even leading cryptocurrency proponents admit the former president is “pandering” to them to win votes.
“Bitcoin looks like a scam,” Trump said in 2021, calling it “another currency competing against the dollar.”
“I’m not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air,” he said in 2019, linking it to drug sales and criminals.
The former president even offered them a high-profile government scalp when he gave a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on Saturday.
“In the United States we only have one real currency, and it is stronger than ever. It is called the US dollar!”
But wealthy donors and Trump’s desire to be president again, no matter what, have fueled a path toward Damascus’ conversion that he hopes will give him an advantage.
In Nashville, he tried to sell himself as “the cryptocurrency president” in contrast to Harris, who reportedly privately told a donor “Bitcoin is money for criminals.”
“This is the steel industry of 100 years ago,” Trump said.
“If we don’t do it, China and other countries will. Let’s do it right. If cryptocurrencies are going to define the future, I want them mined, minted and manufactured in the United States.
“It’s not going to be made anywhere else. And if bitcoin is going to go to the moon, as we say… I want America to be the nation that leads the way, and that’s what’s going to happen. So they’re going to be very happy with me.”
Trump outlined his plan to create a framework for stablecoin expansion and promised to retain all cryptocurrencies held by the U.S. government.
It would then expand those holdings to create a “national strategic Bitcoin reserve.”
“The laws of the United States are too confusing, too harsh, too angry and too rigid,” he said.
Trump would also end the Treasury Department’s efforts to create a central bank digital currency, which would compete with Bitcoin and others.
“There will never be a CBDC as long as I am president of the United States,” he said.
Trump’s change of heart on cryptocurrencies came after investors poured tens of millions into his campaign coffers and Americans sent $4 million in cryptocurrency donations.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who sued Mark Zuckerberg for stealing their idea for Facebook, have each pledged to donate $1 million to his campaign.
Each of them also sent $250,000 to Elon Musk’s PAC America, which funnels money to Trump’s campaign.