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Donald Trump Vows to Turn US into a ‘Bitcoin Superpower’ and Create National Token Reserve
Former President Donald Trump promised to make the United States dominant in the cryptocurrency industry, oust the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and create a national Bitcoin reserve.
During a speech at the Bitcoin Conference 2024 On Saturday in Nashville, he said that under another Trump administration, the United States would become the “cryptocurrency capital” of the world and a “Bitcoin superpower,” where the token would be mined.
“I promise the Bitcoin community that the day I take the oath of office, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ anti-crypto crusade will be over. It will be over. It will be done,” he said. “The moment I take the oath of office, the persecution will stop and the militarization against your industry will end.”
He also promised to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler “on day one” and appoint a new chairman, prompting loud applause from the audience. “I didn’t know he was that unpopular,” a surprised Trump said.
He also said he would appoint a Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Advisory Committee to develop regulatory guidance, while also ordering the Treasury Department and other federal agencies to halt efforts to develop a central bank digital currency.
“There will never be a CBDC as long as I am president of the United States,” Trump said, adding that he would defend the right to self-custody and create a framework for the expansion of stablecoins, which would extend the dominance of the U.S. dollar.
And even though he says it Fox Business in 2021 that “Bitcoin just looks like a scam” and is “another currency competing with the dollar,” said on Saturday that Bitcoin is not a threat to the dollar.
Trump also promised to keep 100% of all Bitcoin held by the federal government, which will form the core of a “strategic national stockpile of Bitcoin.”
His embrace of the cryptocurrency space comes after years of dismissing it. In addition to his 2021 remarks, he said in 2019 that he was “not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money and whose value is highly volatile and based on nothing.”
President Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race raised hopes that a more flexible regulatory regime would follow, whether under a Republican or Democratic administration.
The price of bitcoin has fallen from its March highs, when it reached $73,000. But after falling below $60,000 earlier this month, bitcoin has rallied about 17% in recent weeks to approach $70,000 again.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign advisers have been Contact the main players in the cryptocurrency industry to develop relationships that could eventually inform a regulatory framework, while sending a message that Democrats are “pro-business, responsible business,” sources told Financial Times.
The presidential election has highlighted a major fault line dividing Silicon Valleywith venture capital partners Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowtiz and the Winklevosses backing Trump.
On the other side, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg and SV Angel’s Ron Conway are among other big names in tech who have publicly backed Harris.