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Donald Trump Vows to Make US the ‘Crypto Capital of the Planet’
Trump Vows to Fire SEC Chairman at Nashville Bitcoin Conference
Applause at Bitcoin Conference Follows Donald Trump’s Vow to Fire SEC Chairman Glen Gensler
Former President Donald Trump has unveiled his plan to make the United States the “cryptocurrency capital of the world and the world’s Bitcoin superpower,” pledging to create the country’s first strategic Bitcoin reserve if elected.
Trump is the first presidential candidate from a major political party to make Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies a campaign theme, and the first American president to speak at a Bitcoin event, addressing an enthusiastic standing-room-only audience. Crowd at Bitcoin 2024 Conference at Music City Center in Nashvilletwo weeks after surviving an assassination attempt.
“If cryptocurrency is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and produced in the USA,” Trump said. “If Bitcoin is going to the moon, as they say, ‘it’s going to the moon,’ I want America to be the nation that leads the way.”
A cornerstone of his plan to make that happen is the first Strategic National Bitcoin Stockpile, consisting of about 210,000 bitcoins, worth about $13 billion, which the federal government has already obtained through legal seizures by law enforcement. The U.S. government is among the largest holders of bitcoin in the world.
“For far too long, our government has violated a cardinal rule that every Bitcoiner knows by heart: never sell your Bitcoin,” he said. “If elected, my administration’s policy for the United States of America would be to retain 100% of all Bitcoin that the United States government currently holds or acquires.”
While Trump has previously expressed skepticism about Bitcoin, even calling it “a disaster waiting to happen,” on Saturday he vowed to be a “pro-Bitcoin president.”
Trump took the stage 57 minutes after he was scheduled to speak, and about three hours after access to the room was cut off by the Secret Service. Despite the delay, during which rumors spread of a surprise appearance by Space X CEO Elon Musk, whose plane was flying over Nashville at the time, the crowd remained enthusiastic for the former president.
During his 51-minute speech on Saturday, Trump praised the innovation of industry leaders as critical to the nation’s future, comparing the cryptocurrency industry to the steel industry of 100 years ago and calling the crowd “the Edisons and Wright Brothers and Carnegies and Henry Fords of our day.”
“America always plants its flag on the next frontier and boldly pushes forward,” Trump said. “You are building America’s future with your wits, your grit, and your skin in the game.”
Trump has made moves in recent months that signal his crypto reversal goes deeper than rhetoric. Earlier this year, Trump became the first presidential candidate to accept donations in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Since doing so in May, Trump announced Saturday that his camp has raised $25 million in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He has also chosen a running mate in Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who has supported cryptocurrency and disclosed in 2022 that he holds Bitcoin.
While in Nashville, Trump reportedly held a fundraiser for his campaign, where the most expensive tickets sold for up to $844,600 per person, the maximum amount contributed to his joint fundraising committee, the Trump 47 Committee. Photo opportunities with Trump were available for $60,000 per person and $100,000 per couple.
Trump will speak at a rally in Minnesota on Saturday night alongside Vance, aiming to make the historically Democratic state competitive.
Vows to fire SEC chairman, commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s sentence
Trump made several promises to the world’s leading Bitcoin users on Saturday, including appointing a pro-cryptocurrency council to draft regulations for the industry, increasing U.S. energy production to support Bitcoin mining, commuting Ross Ulbricht’s sentence, and “firing” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission member Gary Gensler.
Trump has pledged to appoint a Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Advisory Council on his first day in office and task the group with “designing transparent regulatory guidance that will benefit the entire industry” within 100 days.
“We will have regulations, but for now the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not people who hate your industry,” he said.
He touted his plan to “harness American energy in all its forms,” to bring power and electricity to the lowest cost in the world, which he said would make America “the undisputed mineral power of the world.”
“Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will grow our economy, consolidate American financial dominance, and strengthen this entire country, long into the future,” he said.
Trump also reiterated his commitment to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road, which facilitated the sale of narcotics and is currently serving a life sentence, prompting chants of “Free Ross! Free Ross!” from the crowd. Trump also said he would shut down the U.S. Department of Justice’s Operation Choke Point, an investigative initiative to investigate banks, gun dealers and short-term loan providers deemed to be high risk of fraud.
But the biggest cheers of the speech came when Trump promised to “fire” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, an announcement that brought the audience to its feet. Gensler has been hostile to the cryptocurrency industry.
“I didn’t know he was that unpopular,” Trump said. “Let me say that again. On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler.”
The crowd roared again and erupted into chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!”
“I will nominate a new SEC chairman who believes America should build the future, not block it, which is what happened. And Kamala Harris wants to nominate him for Treasury Secretary.”
Ending Biden’s ‘Anti-Crypto Crusade’
He pledged to stop what he called an “anti-crypto crusade” by the Biden Harris administration and oppose attempts to establish a central bank digital currency, to cheers from the crowd.
Unlike his independent opponent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who spoke at Friday’s conferenceTrump has not promised to order the U.S. Treasury to strategically purchase Bitcoin to help stabilize the U.S. dollar.
“The moment I take the oath of office, the persecution will stop and the militarization of your industry will end, and that will be as long as I am in the Oval Office,” Trump said.
“You’re going to be very happy with me,” Trump said, drawing a laugh. “You’re going to be so happy.”
He celebrated President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race, but criticized Vice President Kamala Harris as “a radical left-wing lunatic” who is “anti-cryptocurrency… very anti-cryptocurrency.”
“For three and a half years, the current administration has waged a war against cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin like no one has ever seen before,” he said.
He encouraged the crowd to vote, warning that if he lost the election, “this country could be finished,” calling his political opponents “totalitarians hell-bent on destroying cryptocurrencies.”
“You have the SEC, you know what they’re doing: destroying Bitcoin. The reason couldn’t be clearer, because Bitcoin represents freedom, sovereignty, and independence from government coercion.”
Trump criticized the Biden administration’s spending, blaming it on “trillions of dollars of ridiculous waste approved by our opponents” that he said led to “the same inflationary disaster that Bitcoin proponents have always predicted.”
“Bitcoin proponents understand inflation frankly better than anyone else, if they would just listen,” Trump said. “Twenty to 30 percent of the value of every dollar has been wiped out rapidly. The life savings of millions of Americans have been rapidly destroyed. This is a stealth tax. I call it the Biden tax, now I call it the Harris tax. Inflation is a 50 percent tax on people. This is a human tragedy.”
He has pledged, if re-elected, to reduce regulations, fight inflation and make permanent the tax cuts passed during his first term.
“Those who say Bitcoin is a threat to the dollar have it exactly the opposite: Bitcoin does not threaten the dollar,” he said. “The behavior of the current U.S. government is really threatening the dollar.”
Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn and Former Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Promote Bitcoin
Several Tennessee officials attended or spoke at the Bitcoin conference and expressed support for integrating cryptocurrency into the mainstream economy.
On Saturday night, Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn joined former presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in a debate, voicing her support for making Bitcoin an investment option in federal employee 401(k) retirement plans.
Ramaswamy said that Bitcoin should remain apolitical and that political support for Bitcoin stems from a desire to do what is best for the country.
“Capitalism is neutral. Capitalism is what unites us across our otherwise partisan differences,” he said.
Blackburn stressed his support for the industry and the need to give people the personal freedom to invest in Bitcoin.
“The federal government should not be meddling in your transactional life,” Blackburn said.
Blackburn also hosted a “Biscuits and Bitcoin” campaign event ahead of Saturday morning’s conference with Ramaswamy, former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell, and Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis on Saturday, which was attended by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
Later Saturday, Lummis announced he would file a bill to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve to establish the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Earlier this month, Blackburn’s campaign announced it would accept donations in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
— Staff writer Hadley Hitson contributed to this report.
Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean or on X at @Vivian_E_Jones.