Bitcoin was once derided by Trump as being "based on thin air." He's speaking at the biggest crypto event right now.
There was a moment when Donald Trump would have seemed like an odd choice to open a Bitcoin conference.
In his capacity as president, Trump denounced bitcoin as "not money" and called it "very volatile and based on thin air." He issued a warning, pointing out that cryptocurrency assets supported illicit black markets.
In 2019, Trump stated on Twitter, "There is only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever." "We refer to it as the US Dollar."
However, Trump will speak at the biggest annual cryptocurrency conference here in Nashville on Saturday as one of its most well-known champions rather than as a cynic, marking the conclusion of a complete 180 degree turnabout on the matter during the former president's most recent White House campaign.
Though the recent history of cryptocurrencies has been unsettling, and Trump has expressed doubts in the past, he has wholeheartedly embraced the hype and promises of this emerging business. Now accepting bitcoin payments, his campaign has amassed roughly $4 million in funds, according to a source familiar with his fundraising. He has denounced the Biden administration's attempts to regulate the sector as a "war on crypto," omitting to mention the numerous fraud operations that have destroyed the public's faith in virtual currencies. Additionally, he has pledged to facilitate the operations of bitcoin mining firms in the US during his term as president.
Though the recent history of cryptocurrencies has been unsettling, and Trump has expressed doubts in the past, he has wholeheartedly embraced the hype and promises of this emerging business. Now accepting bitcoin payments, his campaign has amassed roughly $4 million in funds, according to a source familiar with his fundraising. He has denounced the Biden administration's attempts to regulate the sector as a "war on crypto," omitting to mention the numerous fraud operations that have destroyed the public's faith in virtual currencies. Additionally, he has pledged to facilitate the operations of bitcoin mining firms in the US during his term as president.
In response, the sector has welcomed Trump. Millions of dollars have been donated to his campaign and affiliated political committees by its leaders and investors. They support his candidacy to their large online followings and are now giving him a chance to address 20,000 of their most active followers in person, who are anticipated at this year's Bitcoin Conference.
Tech journalist Jacob Silverman, the author of the best-selling book "Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud," said, "A lot of these people consider themselves single-issue voters." "It matters to them if Trump or anyone else declares they support bitcoin."
An unstable sector
The erratic market has only seen greater volatility since Trump declared his disapproval of bitcoin in 2019. This is most notable for the arrest, trial, and incarceration of Sam Bankman-Fried, the creator of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Bankman-Fried, who was formerly the face of a corporation that included NFL quarterback Tom Brady and comedian Larry David among its celebrity endorsers, was sentenced to 25 years in jail in March for orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud scam through his enterprises.
Trump's campaign declined to comment on what caused the former president to change his mind about bitcoin. Trump has also failed to address a major critique of digital currencies, which is that they are purely speculative investments with no real-world application. Later in the day, he will attend a more conventional campaign rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, after his participation at the convention in Nashville.
Democrats are attacking "crypto innovators and others in the technology sector," according to a statement released by Trump's campaign spokesperson Brian Hughes to CNN. The former president, however, is "ready to encourage American leadership in this and other emerging technologies."
Trump has shifted his stance on bitcoin with the support of Republican allies. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made the familiar argument in the cryptocurrency community that the former president understood their worries around financial freedom when he spoke at the conference on Friday.
"We want people to be in charge of making their own decisions, regardless of how much they value their money or digital assets," Scott stated.
According to David Bailey, CEO of the bitcoin-focused media company BTC Inc., leaders in the industry have been courting Trump for months and educating his team on their policy agenda and the chance to sway voters on the matter. Bailey made these remarks in a recent interview.
Bailey admitted that part of their presentation involved adopting cryptocurrency and "the amount of industry backing he can get." During their talk, they discussed their meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago earlier this summer.
According to Bailey, whose business is hosting the yearly conference where Trump is scheduled to speak on Saturday, "everything rapidly accelerated at that point."
In fact, Trump's support surged rapidly after. Bitcoin billionaires Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss promised to contribute $1 million each to Trump's campaign. Since 2014, the Federal Election Commission has permitted political groups to accept bitcoin payments; the amount of the contribution is based on the price at the moment it is received.
During a recent fundraising tour of Silicon Valley that Trump's new running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, assisted in organizing, cryptocurrency was also discussed. One of the events was held at the house of billionaire software entrepreneur David Sacks, who is well-known for being an advocate for cryptocurrencies.
In a recent episode of his co-hosted podcast "All-In," Sacks stated, "I think one of the things we heard a lot at that dinner was just the difficulty that people in business were having under this Biden administration." "You have the folks in crypto who are content with a framework. All they want is for the government to tell them what to do, but they are unable to get that.
Getting political
Industry leaders and supporters have taken on a more political role, contributing to the funding of super PACs that have largely favored Republicans over Democrats.
In a lengthy social media post supporting Trump, Tyler Winklevoss said, "It's time for the crypto army to send a message to Washington." "That is political suicide to attack us."
Major cryptocurrency companies' political strategist, Eric Soufer, stated that supporters of cryptocurrencies who were forced out of positions of authority following the Bankman-Fried scandal are "looking for political validation after years in the wilderness."
Soufer says that "they feel like this is their chance, and it's difficult to say no to someone who is telling them everything they want to hear."
Since FTX's demise, the cryptocurrency market has seen a rebirth. The price of bitcoin has rebounded after plunging in 2022 and hit an all-time high in June. Inside Music City Center, excitement for this year's Nashville event was evident. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent contender for president, also spoke at the gathering on Friday.
Even so, as more individuals become aware of cryptocurrencies, many Americans have voiced concerns about them. Almost 90% of adults, according to a 2023 Pew Research survey, had heard of cryptocurrencies, and 75% of them didn't think they were trustworthy or safe.
However, Trump's efforts to win over new supporters in unlikely locations are consistent with his seduction of cryptocurrency voters. At the Libertarian Party's annual convention earlier this year, Trump made a commitment to "support the right to self-custody to the nation's 50 million crypto holders." There is a lot of crossover between the cryptocurrency community and libertarians.
It was easy to locate Trump backers at the Bitcoin Conference. Since 2021, Atlanta native John Fischer, 61, has made his own bitcoin investments. He intended to vote for Trump once more in 2020.
Nevertheless, he remained objective regarding Trump's endeavors to appease conference attendees.
If a politician wants to win over voters, they must be pro-something, according to Fischer.
Despite Trump's previous rhetoric, 25-year-old Michigander Luke Broyles, who works in the crypto business, was similarly skeptical of his current appeals.
Broyles states, "I think there is a good bit of skepticism among bitcoin people." "I think that makes sense. In the end, people's distrust of politicians is the reason they are invested in bitcoin.
