Former United States President and current Republican presidential aspirant Donald Trump has announced his ambitious plan to establish the United States as the global capital for cryptocurrency. This announcement was made at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville held on Saturday 27, 2024.
While speaking at the event, Trump said,
“This afternoon I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world, and we’ll get it done”.
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He further stated that if he becomes president, he would ensure that the US government retains its Bitcoin holdings indefinitely. “For too long our government has violated the Cardinal rule that every Bitcoiner knows by heart: Never sell your Bitcoin”, he remarked.
Throughout his speech, Trump outlined the Republican party’s plan to embrace crypto and roll out friendly policies, as against that of President Biden’s administration which he said has taken a hard regulatory approach to crypto.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s repression of crypto and Bitcoin is wrong and it’s very bad for our country. Let me tell you if they win this election, every one of you will be gone. They will be vicious. They will be ruthless. They will do things that you wouldn’t believe”, Trump stated.
Also, Trump further made a shocking statement on his plans to fire the U.S. chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary. S Gensler, who he said has taken an aggressive approach to crypto regulation in the country.
It is understood that since his first year as the head of the SEC, Gensler has been consistent in his stance that most cryptocurrencies fit the definition of securities used for gambling, which presents a systemic risk for the economy.
As the adoption of crypto continues to surge, Gensler has called for an aggressive approach to policing cryptocurrency as the industry’s surging growth has rattled the financial world. In 2021, while testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, he argued that the vast majority of digital assets traded over crypto exchanges need to register with the SEC so the agency can protect investors against abuses.
“It’s a highly speculative asset class,” Gensler said, expressing skepticism about claims by crypto advocates that it offers a path to financial independence for smaller investors.
Trump’s recent crypto-friendly stance is coming as the race to capture the votes of US citizens takes center stage in the 2024 presidential contest. Meanwhile, about five years ago, Trump had starkly opposed the decentralized tokens. In a post made on X (formerly Twitter) in July 2019, Trump said he is not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies.
He wrote, “I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.”
Fast forward to May 2024, Trump completed a total flip-flop on his stance regarding cryptocurrencies, becoming the first major presidential candidate to accept Bitcoin donations. Notably, this sharp change in policy stance has appeased many crypto supporters, which could be a crucial deciding factor for his victory in the election in November this year.
However, as regards Trump’s recent support for cryptocurrency, Co-founder of the decentralized blockchain and development platform Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, has issued a stern warning against choosing a candidate purely based on whether they claim to be “pro-crypto.
Vitalik via a blogpost wrote that if one notices a politician being crypto-friendly, one important thing that they can do is look up their views on crypto five years ago.
Similarly, he urged them to check up on their views on related topics such as encrypted messaging five years ago. This according to him, can be a good guide on what kinds of changes to their views might happen five years in the future.