NASHVILLE — Former U.S. President Donald Trump promised to maintain a “national strategic bitcoin reserve” and “never sell” any bitcoin seized by the government, during a freewheeling speech that cemented the Republican candidate’s control over cryptocurrency voting and fundraising campaigns.
Ahead of the event, there was widespread speculation and expectation among crypto enthusiasts that Trump would announce such a reserve.
Speaking to a packed audience of more than 3,000 people at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville on Saturday, President Trump said he wanted bitcoin to be “mined, minted and manufactured in the United States,” before laying out a “comprehensive” cryptocurrency policy that would cover everything from regulating stablecoins to the right to self-custody of bitcoin.
The speech was emblematic of bitcoin’s steady progression from the internet’s deepest niches to the center of American politics, once a demonized coin on darknet markets.
“If we don’t do it, China will,” he said of the adoption of digital assets. “Crypto is like the steel industry 100 years ago, it’s still in its infancy,” he said. “It will one day overtake gold… It’s the first of its kind.”
He added that a Democrat retaining the White House would be a catastrophe for the crypto world: “If they win this election, you’ll all be gone. They’re brutal and ruthless. They’ll do unbelievable things.”
Trump said that if elected, his plans for his first day in office also include firing Gary Gensler, the influential chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission who is widely disliked in the crypto industry. The promise drew loud applause from the audience. that “Bitcoin is unpopular,” Trump said, adding that he would appoint a “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Advisory Committee” after taking office.
President Trump arrived at Nashville’s Music City Center after a major campaign fundraiser that targeted deep-pocketed cryptocurrency executives and raised tens of millions of dollars, according to sources. Thousands of bitcoin supporters waited for hours to see the former president, who previously lambasted the digital asset but recently turned to cryptocurrencies. Trump became the first president to attend a bitcoin event.
At the start of the event, Trump thanked the organizers of the event and noted that many legendary figures were in attendance, including Gemini crypto exchange founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor.
Cryptocurrency was thrust onto the 2024 election agenda in late May when Trump declared himself the industry’s candidate and said, “If you’re in favor of crypto, you’re voting for Trump because they want to end crypto.”
Trump’s support hastened a partisan realignment within the crypto industry’s upper echelons: Suddenly, well-connected voters who previously voted Democrat, including hedge fund lawyers, startup founders and donors, began tweeting their support for Trump as a consolation prize after years of bullying by President Joe Biden’s regulatory state.
The three-day conference drew hordes of enthusiastic Trump fans, who descended on Nashville wearing “Make Bitcoin Great Again” hats of every color. For many of the 20,000 attendees, a support for Trump seemed like a foregone conclusion. Coincidentally, Trump has also come to support Bitcoin.
Behind the scenes in Nashville, industry leaders rewarded Trump for his change of tack by showering his campaign with cash — a fundraiser just before the speech raised about $900,000 per ticket — and lesser candidates also held their own fundraisers in Nashville.
Cryptocurrency advocates widely see the 2024 election as a golden opportunity to reform hostile U.S. regulations, and see Trump as the best candidate to do so, despite his previous claims that bitcoin is “baseless” while in office.
A gifted marketer, after leaving the White House, Trump launched a sold-out NFT collection showcasing various aspects of his patriotism, raking in millions of dollars and giving the businessman a new perspective on an industry he once rejected.
Before Biden dropped out of the race, his campaign made no effort to woo crypto enthusiasts or Bitcoin supporters, at one point calling Trump’s NFT buyers “idiots.” Biden’s message, which came after years of legal battles with Biden appointee Gensler, who argued the crypto industry was largely ignoring U.S. law, was the final straw for many crypto players.
The rise of Vice President Kamala Harris may offer a chance for Democratic realignment, as some lawmakers are calling on her to make a difference. But the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has yet to live up to those expectations.
“By the way, she’s against cryptocurrency. And very strongly against it. She needs to go out and vote,” Trump said.
