Trump to end war on crypto if elected, says US will be ‘crypto capital of the world’
The former and prospective United States president made the announcement at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
Former United States President and current Republican Party candidate Donald Trump announced his intent to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world” if he wins November’s presidential election.
After taking the stage an hour late, Trump addressed the crowd at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Trump said he greatly respected the Bitcoin
He also predicted that “one day” Bitcoin would overtake gold, stating, “Bitcoin is not just a marvel of technology, as you know, it’s a miracle of cooperation and human achievement.”
Trump turns up the heat
Trump quickly shifted to criticizing his political rival, saying, “I’ve got a low I.Q. opponent. I’m not talking about him; I’m talking about her,” seemingly referring to presumptive Democratic Party nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former president then pivoted to the rhetoric surrounding the energy used by Bitcoin and artificial intelligence and promised to use fossil fuels to create “so much electricity that you’ll be saying, ‘Please, president sir, we have too much electricity.‘” He also reiterated plans to roll back federal incentives for electric vehicle and charging station manufacturers.
The crypto president
Trump mentioned that he believes he would be a strong candidate for the cryptocurrency and Bitcoin communities. He emphasized to the crowd that, if elected, they would be very pleased with his performance. He then encouraged the audience to express their gratitude for the work he anticipated doing.
“If crypto is going to define the future, it’s going to be mined, minted and made in America. If Bitcoin is going to the Moon, as they asy, I want it be America that sends it there.”
RFK did it first
Speaking at the conference on July 26, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have made the bigger splash by laying out a Bitcoin-friendly day-one policy plan, were he to be elected.
During his speech, he promised to pass an executive order requiring the US Justice Department to transfer the supposed 204,000 BTC held by the Federal Reserve into a strategic reserve.
He also said, if elected, he would order the Treasury Department to purchase 500 BTC daily until the reserve reached at least 4 million BTC. This, said Kennedy, would allow the US to attain “a position of dominance no other country will be able to usurp.”
Were Kennedy’s ambitions to come to fruition, the US government would ultimately control nearly 20% of all Bitcoin that will ever be in circulation.
Snowden rains on the political parade
In contrast, Edward Snowden was one of the speakers who had been most watched at the previous day’s events on July 26. His message differed entirely from the parade of incumbent politicos and hopeful US congressional candidates sprinkled throughout the event.
Rather than promoting Bitcoin as a political tool, Snowden warned people to “cast a vote, but don’t join a cult.” The gist of his speech was the warning that politicians who support Bitcoin and cryptocurrency solely as part of a party agenda for the purpose of courting voters were “not our tribe.”
Snowden, speaking softly throughout his talk, added that the cryptocurrency community should remain wary: “Try to get what you need from them, but don’t give yourself to them, even if you have to vote for them.”
