Speaking
in
a
packed
hall
Saturday
before
over
3,000
attendees
at
the
Bitcoin
Conference
in
Nashville,
Trump
said
of
bitcoin,
“I
want
it
to
be
mined,
minted
and
made
in
the
U.S.”
He
then
laid
out
a
“comprehensive”
crypto
policy
that
spanned
from
stablecoin
regulation
to
the
right
to
self-custody
one’s
bitcoin.
The
speech
capped
bitcoin’s
steady
march
from
the
internet’s
deepest
niches
into
the
heart
of
American
politics
–
whereas
once,
it
was
the
vilified
coin
of
choice
for
darknet
markets.
“If
we
don’t
do
it,
China
will
do
it,”
he
said
of
embracing
digital
assets.
Crypto
is
“the
steel
industry
of
100
years
ago,
you’re
just
in
your
infancy,”
he
said.
“One
day
it
probably
will
overtake
gold.
…
There’s
never
been
anything
like
it.”
He
added
that
Democrats
keeping
the
White
House
would
be
a
disaster
for
crypto.
“If
they
win
this
election,
every
one
of
you
will
be
gone.
They
will
be
vicious.
They
will
be
ruthless.
They
will
do
things
and
you
wouldn’t
believe.”
If
elected,
Trump
said
his
day
one
plans
included
firing
Gary
Gensler,
the
influential
chair
of
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
who
is
widely
reviled
in
the
crypto
industry.
The
promise
drew
huge
applause
from
the
crowd.
“I
didn’t
know
he
was
that
unpopular,”
Trump
said.
Trump
also
said
he
will
appoint
a
“a
bitcoin
and
crypto
advisory
council”
upon
taking
office.
Trump
arrived
at
Nashville’s
Music
City
Center
after
a
major
campaign
fundraising
event
that
targeted
deep-pocketed
crypto
executives
and
raised
tens
of
millions
of
dollars,
according
to
sources.
Thousands
of
bitcoiners
camped
out
for
hours
to
see
the
former
president,
a
new
convert
to
crypto
after
previously
blasting
digital
assets.
He’s
now
the
first
president
to
appear
at
a
bitcoin
event.
In
the
opening
moments,
he
thanked
the
event’s
organizers,
and
said
there
were
lots
of
legends
in
the
room.
Trump
name
checked
several
crypto
figures
including
Tyler
and
Cameron
Winklevoss,
the
founders
of
the
Gemini
crypto
exchange,
and
MicroStrategy’s
Michael
Saylor.
Crypto
exploded
onto
the
2024
election
agenda
in
late
May
when
Trump
declared
himself
the
industry’s
candidate
and
declared:
“If
you’re
in
favor
of
crypto
you’re
gonna
vote
for
Trump
because
they
want
to
end
it.”
His
embrace
supercharged
a
partisan
realignment
inside
the
crypto
industry’s
upper
echelons.
Suddenly,
well-connected
voters
–
hedge
fund
lawyers,
startup
founders
and
funders
alike
–
who
had
previously
voted
Democratic
began
murmuring
about
supporting
Trump
as
a
salve
to
years
of
perceived
bullying
from
President
Joe
Biden’s
regulatory
state.
They
were
joined
at
this
three-day
conference
by
throngs
of
die-hard
Trump
fans
who
piled
into
Nashville
wearing
“Make
Bitcoin
Great
Again”
hats
of
every
color.
To
many
of
the
20,000
attendees,
supporting
Trump
seemed
a
foregone
conclusion.
It
just
so
happened
he
also
now
supported
bitcoin.
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MAGA
MEME
PAC
members
in
Nashville,
from
left
to
right:
Maga
Poli,
Crypto
Viking,
Crypto
Patriot
(Danny
Nelson/CoinDesk)
Behind
the
scenes
in
Nashville,
industry
leaders
rewarded
Trump’s
pivot
with
mounds
of
cash
to
fuel
his
campaign;
a
fundraiser
immediately
before
his
speech
asked
nearly
$900,000
a
ticket.
Other
down-ballot
candidates
in
Nashville
held
fundraisers
of
their
own.
Crypto’s
proponents
broadly
see
the
2024
election
as
their
best
chance
to
reshape
hostile
U.S.
regulations;
many
consider
Trump
the
candidate
best
suited
to
do
it.
That’s
in
spite
of
his
prior
stance
during
his
presidency
that
bitcoin
“was
based
on
thin
air.”
Ever
the
marketer,
after
he
left
the
White
House
Trump
released
sellout
NFT
collections
depicting
himself
in
varying
states
of
patriotism.
Their
millions
of
dollars
in
revenue
gave
the
businessman
a
different
perspective
of
the
industry
he
once
rejected.
Before
Biden
dropped
out
of
the
race
his
campaign
made
no
effort
to
court
crypto
fans
or
Bitcoiners,
at
one
point
calling
the
Trump
NFT
buyers
“suckers.”
Coming
after
years
of
perceived
lawfare
from
Biden-appointed
Gensler
(who
insists
the
industry
largely
is
flouting
U.S.
law),
Biden’s
messaging
was
for
many
in
crypto
a
final
straw.
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris’
ascendence
may
give
Democrats
a
chance
to
reposition.
Some
lawmakers
are
pushing
her
for
change.
But
the
likely
Democratic
presidential
nominee
hasn’t
delivered
yet.
“She’s
against
crypto,
by
the
way,
and
she;’s
against
it
very
big.
You
gotta
get
out
and
vote,”
Trump
said.
