On Saturday afternoon, former President Donald Trump positioned himself as a strong advocate for cryptocurrencies in a speech at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville. He even pledged that if elected, he would strive to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Strategic federal Bitcoin reserve. Trump openly expressed support for cryptocurrencies, likening them to key sectors: “This is the steel industry of a hundred years ago. I think you’re just in your infancy… One day, it probably will overtake gold. Based on the way it’s going now, it could very well be a possibility. There’s never been anything like it.”
Trump also suggested the creation of a strategic federal Bitcoin reserve with a commitment to “never sell,” making a clear reference to the HODL strategy. HODL, which is a misspelling of “hold” and also stands for “Hold On for Dear Life,” is a mantra followed by many crypto enthusiasts who hold on to their crypto tokens even when the market is extremely volatile.
1 million bitcoin for 20 years. Although Trump didn’t provide many details about how a federal Bitcoin reserve work would, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) did. Lummis is planning on introducing a bill where the U.S. Federal Reserve would accumulate 1 million bitcoin (equivalent to about $70 billion at the current exchange rate) over the next five years.
“It will be held for a minimum of 20 years and can be used for one purpose: Reduce our debt,” Lummis said shortly after Trump’s speech.
Bitcoin “made in the USA.” In his speech, Trump explained, “If crypto is going to define the future, I want [it] to be mined, minted and made in the USA. It’s going to be. It’s not going to be made anywhere else. And if Bitcoin is going to the Moon, as we say, it’s going to the Moon. I want America to be the nation that leads the way.” He later added, “If we don’t do it, China’s going to be doing [it].”
Right to self-custody. To promote these American-made bitcoins, Trump advocated for the right to self-custody, stating that he would strive to ensure that access to cold wallets (a safe system to store cryptocurrency private keys) is secured.
“I will immediately order the Treasury Department and other federal agencies to cease and desist all steps necessary… There’s a thing going on in your industry: They want to move the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. It’s over. Forget it,” Trump noted, expressing his intention to prevent the establishment of a higher body to control the bitcoins owned by individuals.
“Make Bitcoin Great Again.” This is one of the slogans that appeared among the conference attendees. “The Biden-Harris administration’s repression of crypto and bitcoin is wrong and it’s very bad for our country,” Trump said. Instead, he presents himself as the president of cryptocurrencies, the one who will deregulate the sector in the interest of investors.
Another action Trump has advocated for is the dismissal of Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and one of the individuals responsible for regulating cryptocurrencies in the country.
This article was written by Enrique Pérez and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.
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