Millions donated

How Trump is courting the Bitcoin scene during the election campaign

Trump promised to set up a Bitcoin and crypto advisory board in the White House.

(Bild: APA/AP)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has spoken out in favor of crypto-friendly policies at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville. He announced that if he is re-elected on his first day in office, he will fire the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler.

The SEC under Gensler is skeptical of cryptocurrencies. "Bitcoin stands for freedom, sovereignty and independence from government coercion and control," said Trump.

Trump promised to set up a Bitcoin and Crypto Advisory Council in the White House. This would draft "transparent regulatory guidelines for the benefit of the entire industry" in his first 100 days in office. There will be rules, but they will be made by people "who love your industry, not hate it", said Trump.

"Strategic national Bitcoin holdings"
 The Republican also announced that he would keep 100 percent of all Bitcoin that the US government currently owns or acquires in the future. This would serve as the core of a "strategic national Bitcoin stockpile". Trump said he would be the "pro-Bitcoin president" that America needs. The industry had promised even more, above all a firm commitment that BTC would become part of the US financial reserve. There was no mention of active purchasing from Trump.

As president (2017 to 2021), Trump was still one of the most outspoken crypto-sceptics. "I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies," Trump wrote on Twitter on July 12, 2019 (today X). Cryptocurrencies are not money, fluctuate greatly in value and are based on thin air. "Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trafficking and other illegal activities."

Bitcoin millions for the Trump election campaign
Even after his defeat against Joe Biden, he kept up his anti-Bitcoin rhetoric, calling Bitcoin & Co. a "fraud against the dollar" in 2021. However, this changed a year later: in December 2022, Trump tried to cash in on digital crypto trading cards (NFTs). In May 2024, Trump announced that he would accept crypto donations during the election campaign. His campaign has already raised the equivalent of four million dollars in Bitcoin and other tokens, according to Barron's magazine.

The political action committee Fairshake, which advocates cryptocurrencies, has raised about $170 million, according to the Barron's report, making it one of the largest PACs this election cycle. Some venture capitalists, including investing legends Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, have said they are backing Trump because they are unhappy with the Democrats' crypto policies. Trump's vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance is himself a crypto investor, according to his own statements.