Amid the 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump is singing a different tune regarding a certain technology.
On July 27, 2024, the former president stated during the Bitcoin Conference hosted in Nashville, TN, that he is set on transforming the U.S. into a “Bitcoin superpower,” The New York Times reports.
“I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world,” Trump said, per the outlet.
He continued, “…America will once again be a nation that protects property rights, privacy, freedom of transaction, freedom of association, and freedom of speech.”
At the conference, Trump also claimed that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are part of “an anti-crypto crusade.” Moreover, he promised the conference’s attendees that he would end the “persecution” of cryptocurrencies.
“Sadly, we see the attacks on crypto,” he said. “It’s a part of a much larger pattern that’s being carried out by the same left-wing fascists to weaponize government against any threat to their power. They’ve done it to me.”
The outlet also details that Trump has accepted donations in cryptocurrency for his campaign, totaling $25 million within two months, as of this writing.
While Trump has been making promises to cryptocurrency users — including creating a “Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council” — he wasn’t always an advocate for the industry. According to MSNBC, the switch in his stance began in May 2024 when he shared via Truth Social that he was “positive and open minded to cryptocurrency companies.”
However, back in August 2021 toward the end of his presidency, he told Fox Business that cryptocurrencies “are potentially a disaster waiting to happen.”
“They may be fake,” Trump said. “Who knows what they are? They certainly are currencies that people don’t know very much about. I have not been a big fan.”
As the 2024 presidential race continues to heat up, time will tell what Trump has planned with his appeal to the crypto community.
