Trump’s new ‘Crypto First’ mantra has investors sizing up the industry

In a big boost to the crypto community, former President Donald Trump made an appearance at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville over the weekend. Note that it is election season, when contenders shore up needed support from swathes of the population, but Trump also described his newfound love from a strategic and geopolitical standpoint. “If we don’t embrace it [crypto and bitcoin technology], China and others are going to be doing it. My vision is for an America that dominates the future.”

Backdrop: Trump wasn’t always that friendly to bitcoin and was far from being an advocate. During his time in office, he said cryptos were a disaster waiting to happen and whose value was based on thin air, while connecting the digital assets to crime-riddled scams and threats to the U.S. dollar. Things started to change after the launch of his NFT collections, and Trump became the first major-party presidential candidate to start accepting crypto campaign contributions in May. There was also an opening to distinguish his platform from the current administration, which has been largely seen as taking an unfriendly stance toward the cryptocurrency industry. At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is up by 3.2% to $69,571.

“I am laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and bitcoin superpower of the world,” Trump declared at the event featuring Michael Saylor (MicroStrategy), Cathie Wood (Ark Invest) and the Winklevoss twins (Gemini). “There’s never been anything like it, and most people have no idea what the hell it is. Bitcoin is not just a marvel of technology, as you know; it’s a miracle of cooperation and human achievement. Bitcoin stands for freedom, sovereignty and independence from government coercion and control. If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA.”

Taking action: There were several promises made at the conference, including a pledge to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and appointing a presidential advisory council to issue regulatory clarity that will let the crypto industry “thrive.” Other commitments included shutting down Operation Chokepoint 2.0, which refers to the extensive procedures imposed on crypto businesses, as well as eliminating “unclear” or “tough” laws that stifle the sector. He also vowed to create a strategic national bitcoin stockpile, fight CBDCs, defend the right to self-custody, and institute the “responsible expansion of stablecoins to extend the dominance of the U.S. dollar to new frontiers.”

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