Trump Calls for US to Become ‘Crypto Capital of the Planet’ in Nashville Bitcoin Conference Call

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Saturday he outlined his plans for a full reception cryptocurrency if elected to a second term, telling hundreds of cheering digital token supporters that he wants the United States to become a “bitcoin superpower” under his leadership.

In his inaugural speech at Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, the Republican presidential candidate promised to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoins using the currency the government currently holds.

He also promised to dismiss the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gary Gensler if he is elected and establishes a cryptocurrency advisory board, enticing the crowd by asking if anyone would like to join him.

“We will have regulations, but from now on the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate it,” he said.

Trump’s inaugural speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference showed how radically his stance on cryptocurrencies has changed over time.

He hasn’t always been a fan of cryptocurrencies, writing on social media in 2019 that their “value is highly volatile and based on negation.”

In recent years, he has become interested in digital currency, and in May his campaign began accepting donations in cryptocurrency.

During his nearly 50-minute speech, Trump repeatedly tried to contrast his support for cryptocurrencies with the Biden administration. efforts to regulate the industrytelling the crowd that the federal government is “blocking your way.” Trump said he wants the cryptocurrency to be “mined, created, and created” in the United States.

The former president addressed bitcoin fans, citing the seizure of the digital token by US law enforcement.

“They took that from you,” he said. “So, as we take steps to turn this enormous wealth into a permanent national asset that benefits all Americans, today I reiterate my promise to commute Ross Ulbricht’s sentence.”

Ulbricht founded the underground drug-selling website Silk Road but was sentenced to life in prison after a judge found him responsible for six overdose deaths linked to his website. Some of the nearly 800 attendees who came to downtown Nashville to hear Trump speak wore hats that read “Free Ross Day One,” a reference to Ulbricht’s prison sentence.

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn called Trump’s announcement of a strategic bitcoin reserve a “historic moment.”

Trump’s statement came a day after an independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at a conference and proposed the creation of a strategic bitcoin reserve.

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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.