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Trump, who once criticized bitcoin as “based on nothing,” addresses largest cryptocurrency convention
CNN Nashville —
For a while, Donald Trump would have been an unlikely speaker at a cryptocurrency conference.
As president, Trump declared that bitcoin “is not money” and criticized it as “highly volatile and based on nothing.” He warned that cryptocurrencies have helped facilitate illegal underground markets.
“We have only one true currency in the United States, and it is stronger than ever,” Trump wrote on Twitter in 2019. “It’s called the United States Dollar!”
But on Saturday, Trump has spoken the cryptocurrency industry’s largest annual gathering here in Nashville not as a cynic but as one of its most notable proponents – the culmination of a total reversal of trend on the issue during the former president’s last run for the White House.
Despite cryptocurrency’s recent troubling history and his own past reservations, Trump has fully embraced the hype and hopes of the nascent industry. His campaign is now accepting donations in bitcoin and has raised about $4 million, a source familiar with his fundraising said. He has slammed the Biden administration’s efforts to regulate the industry as a “war on cryptocurrency” without acknowledging the massive fraud schemes that have destroyed public trust in digital currencies. And he has vowed, as president, to make it easier for cryptocurrency mining companies to operate in the United States.
“Otherwise, the same thing will happen to other countries,” Trump said earlier this month in Wisconsin.
The industry, in turn, has embraced Trump. Its leaders and investors have donated millions of dollars to his campaign and lined up political committees. They are vocal about his candidacy with their sizable online audiences and gave him a platform Saturday to speak directly to an expected 20,000 attendees at this year’s Bitcoin Conference.
“A lot of these people see themselves as single-issue voters,” said technology writer Jacob Silverman, author of the best-selling book “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.” “If Trump or anyone else says they’re pro-bitcoin, that matters to them.”
Trump made several crypto-friendly policy pledges on Saturday, including promising to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and create a “national strategic bitcoin reserve,” all part of his campaign promise to encourage growth in the sector in the United States.
“If cryptocurrencies are going to define the future, I want them to be mined, minted and produced in the United States,” Trump said at the convention, before a more traditional campaign event in St. Cloud, Minnesota, later in the day.
Since Trump expressed his opposition to bitcoin in 2019, the volatile sector has only faced more turbulence, most notably the arrest, trial and detention of Sam Bankman-Friedthe founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Once the face of a company that counted comedian Larry David and superstar quarterback Tom Brady among its endorsements, Bankman-Fried was sentenced in March to 25 years in prison for running a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme through his companies.
The Trump campaign declined to say what triggered the former president’s 180-degree turn on Bitcoin. Nor did Trump address one of the central criticisms of digital currencies: the lack of practical, real-world use for them, as well as the fact that they are a highly speculative investment.
Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement to CNN that “cryptocurrency innovators and others in the tech industry are under attack” from Democrats, while the former president was “ready to encourage American leadership in this and other emerging technologies.”
Republican allies have joined Trump in his move toward Bitcoin. Speaking at the conference on Friday, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott argued that the former president understands attendees’ concerns about financial freedom, a common refrain in the cryptocurrency community.
“We want people, whether they love their dollars or their digital assets, to be responsible for their decisions,” Scott said.
Industry leaders have been courting Trump for months, briefing his campaign on their political agenda and the opportunity to influence voters on the issue, David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin-focused media company BTC Inc., said in a recent interview.
Their pitch, Bailey acknowledged, included “the amount of industry support it can get” by embracing cryptocurrency. Their conversations included a meeting earlier this summer with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
“Everything accelerated rapidly at that point,” said Bailey, whose company hosts the annual conference where Trump spoke on Saturday.
Indeed, support for Trump has come quickly. Billionaire cryptocurrency moguls Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have pledged to donate $1 million in bitcoin to Trump’s campaign. The Federal Election Commission has allowed political committees to receive bitcoin contributions since 2014, with the value of the bitcoin determined by its price at the time the contribution is received.
Cryptocurrency was also a topic of discussion during a recent fundraising blitz through Silicon Valley that Trump’s new running mate, the Ohio senator Mr. J.D. Vancehelped organize. Billionaire tech entrepreneur David Sacks, a prominent cryptocurrency advocate, hosted one of the fundraisers at his home.
“One of the things I think we heard a lot at that dinner was just the difficulty that people in the business world were having with this Biden administration,” Sacks said on a recent episode of the “All-In Podcast,” which he co-hosts. “You have the crypto guys who just want a framework. They just want the government to tell them how to operate, and they can’t get that.”
Industry leaders and supporters have become increasingly politicized, helping to fund super PACs that have overwhelmingly supported Republicans over Democrats.
“It’s time for the cryptocurrency army to send a message to Washington,” Tyler Winklevoss wrote in a long social media send supporting Trump. “That attacking us is political suicide.”
Eric Soufer, a policy adviser to major cryptocurrency firms, said cryptocurrency insiders who were pushed out of power after the Bankman-Fried episode were “looking for political validation after years in the wilderness.”
“They feel like this is their moment, and it’s hard to resist someone telling them everything they want to hear,” Soufer said.
The cryptocurrency sector has experienced a renaissance since FTX Fall. After a 2022 crash, the price of bitcoin recovered and hit an all-time high in June. The excitement for this year’s Nashville event was palpable inside the Music City Center. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also spoke at the conference on Friday.
However, many Americans have expressed concern about cryptocurrency, even as more people become aware of it. A Pew Research Survey 2023 found that about 9 in 10 adults had heard of cryptocurrencies, and 75% of those people did not believe they were safe or reliable.
But Trump’s courtship of cryptocurrency voters is in line with other efforts to find new support in unconventional places. Earlier this year, Trump reached out to members of the Libertarian Party at their annual convention, where he promised to “support the right to self-custody for the nation’s 50 million cryptocurrency holders.” There’s considerable overlap between libertarians and the cryptocurrency community.
It wasn’t hard to find Trump supporters at the Bitcoin Conference. John Fischer, a 61-year-old from Atlanta, has been personally investing in cryptocurrency since 2021. He voted for Trump in 2020 and plans to do so again.
Nonetheless, he was prescient about Trump’s attempts to woo conference attendees.
“Every politician will be for something if they want to get votes,” Fischer said.
Luke Broyles, a 25-year-old from Michigan who works in the cryptocurrency industry, was equally unsure about Trump’s latest demands, despite his recent rhetoric.
“I think there’s a fair amount of skepticism among people who use Bitcoin,” Broyles said. “I think that’s reasonable. Ultimately, people use Bitcoin because they don’t trust politicians.”
This story and headline have been updated as further developments occur.
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Cryptocurrency Price August 1: Bitcoin Dips Below $65K; Solana, XRP Down Up To 8%
Major cryptocurrencies fell in Thursday trading following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged. Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate at 5.25-5.5% for the eighth consecutive time, as expected, while also signaling the possibility of a rate cut at its next meeting in September. The unanimous decision by the Federal Open Market Committee reflects a continued wait-and-see approach as it monitors inflation trends.
CoinSwitch Markets Desk said: “Bitcoin has fallen below $65,000 after the US Federal Reserve announced it would keep interest rates unchanged. However, with markets now anticipating rate cuts at the next Federal Reserve meeting in September, the outlook for a Bitcoin rally by the end of the year has strengthened.”
Meanwhile, CoinDCX research team said: “The crypto market has plunged after the Fed decision. Tomorrow’s US unemployment rate announcement is expected to induce more volatility, with the ‘actual’ figure coming in higher than the ‘expected’ one, which is positive for cryptocurrencies.”
At 12:21 pm IST, Bitcoin (BTC) was down 3.2% at $64,285, while Ethereum was down nearly 4.5% at $3,313. Meanwhile, the global market cryptocurrency The market capitalization fell 3.6% to around $2.3 trillion in the last 24 hours.
“Bitcoin needs to clear its 200-day EMA at $64,510 to consolidate further. Otherwise, a retest of $62,000 could be in the cards,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.
Altcoins and meme coins, such as BNB (3%), Solana (8%), XRP (5.7%), Dogecoin (5%), Cardano (4.6%), Avalanche (4.3%), Shiba Inu (3.8%), Polkadot (3.4%), and Chainlink (4%) also saw declines.
The volume of all stablecoins is now $71.64 billion, which is 92.19% of the total cryptocurrency market volume in 24 hours, according to data available on CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 54.99%. BTC volume in the last 24 hours increased by 23.3% to $35.7 billion.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, opinions and views provided by experts are personal. They do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
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Altcoins WIF, BONK, RUNE, JUP Down 10% While Bitcoin Drops 4%
Altcoins dogwifhat, Bonk, THORChain, and Jupiter have suffered losses of more than 10%, while Bitcoin is down 4% in the last 24 hours.
After a period of relative calm yesterday, July 31, Bitcoin (BTC) price action has seen a drastic change as the cryptocurrency dropped by more than $3,500, bringing its value to $63,300. At the same time, altcoins mirrored this trend, with the total value of liquidated positions rising to nearly $225 million over the course of the day.
Initially, the week started on a positive note for Bitcoin, which reached its highest point since early June, hitting $70,000. However, this peak was short-lived, as it was quickly rejected, leading to a substantial decline, with Bitcoin falling below $65,500.
The cryptocurrency managed to regain some stability, trading comfortably at around $66,800. However, following a Press conference According to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the value of Bitcoin has fallen again to $64,300, down more than 3% in 24 hours.
BTC Price Chart 24 Hours | Source: crypto.news
The recession coincided with a relationship from the New York Times stating that Iran had called for retaliatory measures against Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, increasing the risk of further conflict in the region.
Meanwhile, on the economic front, the Federal Reserve decided to keep its benchmark interest rates in place, offering little information on a planned September rate cut. Powell also hinted that while no concrete decisions have been made on the September adjustment, there is growing consensus that a rate cut is likely.
Amid Bitcoin’s decline, altcoins have suffered even more significant losses. For example, dogwifhat (Wife) saw a 12.4% drop and (DISGUST) has suffered a 10% drop. Other altcoins such as THORChain (RUNE) also fell by 10%, while Jupiter (JUPITER) and the Ethereum naming service (ENS) decreased by 8% and 9% respectively.
Among the largest-cap cryptocurrencies, the biggest losers are Solana (SOL) with a decrease of 8%, (Exchange rate risk) down 6%, Cardano (ADA) down 4%, and both Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) recording a decrease of 4.4%.
Data from CoinGlass indicates that approximately 67,000 traders have been negatively impacted by this increased volatility. BTC positions have seen $61.85 million in liquidations, while ETH positions have faced $61 million. In total, the value of liquidated positions stands at $225.4 million at the time of writing.
News
Riot Platforms Sees 52% Drop in Bitcoin Production in Q2
Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms has released its second-quarter financial results, highlighting a decline in cryptocurrency mined due to the recent halving.
Colorado-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Riot platforms revealed its second quarter financial results, highlighting a significant reduction in mined cryptocurrencies attributed to the recent halving event that took place in early April.
The company reported total revenue of $70 million for the quarter ended July 31, a decline of 8.7% compared to the same period in 2023. Riot Platforms attributed the revenue decline primarily to a $9.7 million decrease in engineering revenue, which was partially mitigated by a $6 million increase in Bitcoin extraction income.
During the quarter, the company mined 844 BTC, representing a decline of over 50% from Q2 2023, citing the halving event and increasing network difficulty as major factors behind the decline. Riot Platforms reported a net loss of $84.4 million, or $0.32 per share, missing Zacks Research forecast a loss of $0.16 per share.
Halving increases competitive pressure
The Colorado-based firm said the average cost of mining one BTC in the second quarter, including energy credits, rose to $25,327, a remarkable 341% increase from $5,734 per BTC in the same quarter of 2023. Despite this significant increase in production costs, the firm remains optimistic about maintaining competitiveness through recent deals.
For example, following the Recent acquisition Cryptocurrency firm Block Mining, Riot has increased its distributed hash rate forecast from 31 EH/s to 36 EH/s by the end of 2024, while also increasing its 2025 forecast from 40 EH/s to 56 EH/s.
Riot Platforms Hashrate Growth Projections by 2027 | Source: Riot Platforms
Commenting on the company’s financials, Riot CEO Jason Les said that despite the halving, the mining company still managed to achieve “significant operational growth and execution of our long-term strategy.”
“Despite this reduction in production available to all Bitcoin miners, Riot reported $70 million in revenue for the quarter and maintained strong gross margins in our core Bitcoin mining business.”
Jason Les
Following its Q2 financial report, Riot Platforms shares fell 1.74% to $10.19, according to Google Finance data. Meanwhile, the American miner continues to chase Canadian rival Bitfarms, recently acquiring an additional 10.2 million BITF shares, increasing its stake in Bitfarms to 15.9%.
As previously reported by crypto.news, Riot was the first announced a $950 million takeover bid for Bitfarms in late May, arguing that Bitfarms’ founders were not acting in the best interests of all shareholders. They said their proposal was rejected by Bitfarms’ board without substantive engagement.
In response, Bitfarms She said that Riot’s offer “significantly understates” its growth prospects. Bitfarms subsequently implemented a shareholder rights plan, also known as a “poison pill,” to protect its strategic review process from hostile takeover attempts.
News
Aave Price Increases Following Whales Accumulation and V3.1 Launch
Decentralized finance protocol Aave is seeing a significant spike in whale activity as the market looks to recover from the recent crash that pushed most altcoins into key support areas earlier this week.
July 31, Lookonchain shared details indicating that the whales had aggressively accumulated Aave (AAVE) over the past two days. According to the data, whales have withdrawn over 58,848 AAVE worth $6.47 million from exchanges during this period.
In one instance, whale address 0x9af4 withdrew 11,185 AAVE worth $1.23 million from Binance. Meanwhile, another address moved 21,619 AAVE worth over $2.38 million from the exchange and deposited the tokens into Aave.
These withdrawals follow a previous transfer of 26,044 AAVE from whale address 0xd7c5, amounting to over $2.83 million withdrawn from Binance.
AAVE price has surged over 7% in the past 24 hours amid buy-side pressure from these whales. The DeFi token is currently trading around $111 after jumping over 18% in the past week.
Recently, the price of AAVE increased by over 8% after Aave founder Marc Zeller announced a proposed fee change aimed at adopting a buyback program for AAVE tokens.
Aave v3.1 is available
The total value locked in the Aave protocol currently stands at around $22 billion. According to DeFiLlamaApproximately $19.9 billion is on Aave V3, while the V2 chain still holds approximately $1.9 billion in TVL and V1 approximately $14.6 million.
Aave Labs announced Previously, Aave V3.1 was made available on all networks with active Aave V3 instances.
V3.1 features improvements that are intended to improve the overall security of the DeFi protocol. The Aave DAO governance has approved the v3.1 improvements, which also include operational efficiency and usability for the network.
Meanwhile, Aave Labs recently outlined a ambitious roadmap for the projectwith a 2030 vision for Aave V4, among other developments.
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