Trump’s Pro-Crypto Bluster at NFT Gala Lacked Policy Substance

PALM
BEACH,
FL.
—
During
his
first
stint
in
the
White
House
Donald
Trump
was
no
fan
of
cryptocurrencies;
he
once
tweeted
they
were
“based
on
thin
air.”
He
later
sold
millions
of
dollars
worth
of
NFTs.
This
week,
he
rebranded
himself
as
crypto’s
candidate
of
choice.

“If
you’re
in
favor
of
crypto
you’re
gonna
vote
for
Trump
because
they
want
to
end
it,”
he
said
at
a
Wednesday
night
party
in
Mar-a-Lago,
referring
to
Democrats
and
President
Joe
Biden.
He
also
vowed
to
make
sure
his
campaign
can
accept
crypto
donations.

The
77-year-old
candidate’s
apparent
turnabout
came
as
little
surprise
to
his
audience
of
some
200
supporters.
Many
had
bought
$10,000
of
Trump
Trading
Card
NFTs
to
join
this
surreal,
sweltering
outdoor
reception
at
the
former
President’s
Floridian
palace.
A
CoinDesk
reporter
also
attended
(as
a
+1).

For
nearly
an
hour,
Trump
fielded
questions
from
a
sea
of
sweat-drenched
suit-wearers.
Only
a
handful
of
them
focused
on
crypto,
an
incredibly
niche
wedge
issue
that
was
the
nominal
anchor
of
the
entire
event.

But
it
was
enough
to
make
a
few
things
clear:

One
exchange
highlights
points
1
and
3
(we
will
return
to
2
later).
When
asked
how
he
felt
about
central
bank
digital
currencies
(CBDCs)
and
“government
blockchains”
(two
things
that
crypto
proponents
generally
oppose)
Trump
responded
“I
think
it
all
has
its
place.”

He
continued:

“We
have
some
incredible
things
happening,
I
mean
crypto,
if
you
go
back
to
crypto
a
couple
years
ago,
people
said
it
wasn’t
gonna
make
it
but
now
it’s
up
in
record
numbers.
I
guess
you
could
say
it’s
a
form
of
currency
and
I
think
I’m
for
that,
more
and
more
I’m
for
that.”

The
substance
of
Trump’s
support
for
crypto
might
be
less
important
to
the
industry’s
(likely
small)
cadre
of

single-issue
voters
than
the
fact
he’s
saying
anything
positive
about
it.
Trump
appears
to
be
the
first
major
party
presidential
candidate
that’s
embraced
crypto.

On
the
other
side
of
the
race
is
an
openly
hostile
presidential
administration.
Joe
Biden’s
SEC
chairman
Gary
Gensler
is
waging
lawfare
against
many
parts
of
the
crypto
industry.
And
earlier
Wednesday,
hours
before
his
opponent’s
golf-resort
gala,
the
President
vowed
to
block
a
House
effort
to
dismantle
an
SEC
accounting
rule
for
crypto
that
political

opponents
argue
has
hampered
the
industry’s
growth.

“Biden
doesn’t
even
know
what
it
is.
If
you
ask
Biden,
‘Sir,
are
you
for
or
against
crypto?’
he’ll
say,
‘What’s
that?
Get
me
off
the
stage.’
He
has
no
idea,”
Trump
said.
Whether
or
not
that
somewhat
plausible
presumption
is
true,
Trump
followed
up
with
an
attack
on
Gensler,
an
official
well-versed
in
crypto.

“I’ll
say
this:
I’m
fine
with
it,
I
want
to
make
sure
it’s
good
and
solid
and
everything
else
but
I’m
good
with
it,”
Trump
said
of
crypto.
He
later
said,
“If
we’re
gonna
have
what
we
have
then
we’re
going
to
have
to
embrace
a
lot
of
things
that
not
everybody
likes.”

Hours
before
Trump’s
impromptu
Q&A,
the
Biden
campaign
team
roasted
“people
suckered
into
paying
as
much
as
$10,000
for
simple
digital
images
of
him”
in
an
email
to
supporters.
The
email
blasted
Trump
for
holding
a
glitzy
NFT
dinner
instead
of
campaigning
during
his
midweek
break
from
court.

But
Trump

was
campaigning
on
Wednesday
night.
He
was
vying
for
votes
from
the
exceptionally
loud
crypto
crowd
that
Biden
had
thoroughly
snubbed.
Sure,
only
a
few
hundred
heard
him
firsthand.
Their
videos
of
Trump’s
pro-crypto
musings
ricocheted
across
social
media
and
triggered
a
torrent
of
media
coverage
for
crypto’s
self-appointed
political
champion.

“There’s
50
million
crypto
holders
in
the
U.S.
That’s
a
lot
of
voters,”
Ryan
Selkis,
the
CEO
of
crypto
data
platform
Messari
claimed
to
Mar-a-Lago’s
packed
ballroom
where
VIPs
(those
who
bought
$10,000
of
NFTs
)
mingled
with
dinner
attendees
(who
paid
$4,700).
Trump
had
unexpectedly
called
Selkis
onstage.

The
soundbites
that
emerged
from
Wednesday’s
NFT
gala
may
accelerate
crypto’s
polarization
by
locking
it
in
the
same
us-or-them
shackles
that
bind
much
of
American
politics.
Bitcoin’s
libertarian
roots
hardly
resonate
today;
crypto
has
its
proponents
on

both
sides
of
the
aisle.

Republican
politics’
most
powerful
voice
cast
crypto’s
bipartisan
reality
aside
in
declaring
Democrats
want
to
kill
it
off.
“The
Democrats
are
very
much
against
it,”
Trump
said,
hours
after
21
of
the
House’s
213
Democrats
voted
to
repeal
the
SEC
accounting
rule.

Trump
framed
himself
as
the
industry’s
only
hope.
His
fluency
in
the
industry’s
issues
was
spotty.
Asked
how
he
would
change
hostile
U.S.
policies
that
drive
crypto
businesses
out
of
the
country,
he
said:
“We’ll
stop
it,
because
I
don’t
want
that,
I
don’t
want
that.
I
want
that
–
if
we’re
going
to
embrace
it
then
we
have
to
let
them
be
here.”

There
was
one
area
of
crypto
where
Trump
spoke
more-or-less
expertly:
his
NFTs.
Three
collections
of
Trump
NFTs
–
digital
trading
cards
that
depict
an
uber-jacked
Donald
in
various
states
of
patriotism
–
have
generated
millions
of
dollars
in
sales.
Wednesday’s
dinner
gala
celebrated
high-rollers
who
bought
into
his
“Mugshot
Edition”
third
collection.

“We
did
it
when
NFTs
were
not
hot
and
we
made
NFTs
hot
again,”
Trump
claimed
of
his
cards,
adding
that
some
NFT
buyers
made
tens
of
thousands
of
dollars
on
the
resale
market.

Asked
by
one
attendee
if
he
would
sell
a
fourth
NFT
collection,
the
longtime
businessman
demurred.
“I
believe
in
supply
and
demand.
And
as
you
know
1
did
great,
2
did
great,
3
did
great.
At
some
point
maybe
that
turns
around.”

He
polled
the
audience:
How
many
Mugshot
high-rollers
wanted
a
series
4
collection
of
NFTs?
Most
raised
their
hands.
Trump
sounded
bewildered:
“Based
on
supply
and
demand,
wouldn’t
that
maybe
keep
your
prices,
of
the
stuff
you
already
bought,
wouldn’t
that
keep
it
lower?”
He
tested
their
resolve.
“Who
would
like

not
to
see
a
fourth
collection
for
that
reason?”
Only
a
couple
of
hands
shot
up.

“Ok,
a
couple
of
economists,”
Trump
said
to
the
laughter
of
the
crowd.