US Republican candidate, Donald Trump, recently addressed the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee where he outlined his vision for a crypto-friendly future under his potential presidency. Here is a brief overview of his key statements:
- Trump vowed to make the US a “Bitcoin mining powerhouse” urging his supporters to hold onto their Bitcoin.
- He lauded the potential of crypto industry by equating it to the early steel industry which had transformed many American lives in 19th century.
- Trump expressed his hope for Bitcoin to overtake gold’s $16 trillion market in future.
- Addressing concerns of excessive energy usage by Bitcoin mining, he revealed his intentions of using fossil fuels to create excessive electricity.
- He declared himself a strong candidate for the cryptocurrency and Bitcoin communities.
SEC Chair and ‘Bitcoin & Crypto Presidential Advisory Council’
Trump hinted at his potential crypto policies and announced that he would replace the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair by removing the current one, Gary Gensler. Gensler has been heavily criticized by crypto industry supporters for the SEC’s ongoing enforcement actions against many crypto firms.
Trump also announced to establish a “Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council.” This council is expected to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework within 100 days of his taking office.
HODL Bitcoin
Trump pledged that the US would strategically hold over 200,000 Bitcoin, acquired through enforcement actions and seizures. Currently, the US government holds around 212,000 seized Bitcoin which are worth $15 billion, compared to its $600 billion worth of gold reserves.
This promise echoed the similar one made by the independent presidential candidate Robert F. Speaking at the conference the previous day, Kennedy Jr. proposed to pass an executive order requiring the US Justice Department to transfer the supposed 200,000 Bitcoin into a strategic reserve. Kennedy also set a target of 4 million Bitcoin to be bought by the Treasury Department by purchasing 500 Bitcoin daily.
Potential Impact on the US and Global Economy
Trump’s promises have rekindled investors’ hopes of Bitcoin price appreciation. If the US government formally recognizes the Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, it could drive the Bitcoin’s price to new heights. Michael Saylor, the founder of MicroStrategy, a software company, has predicted the Bitcoin price at $49 million per Bitcoin by 2045 with estimated market capitalization of almost $100 trillion.
By adopting Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, US also aims to counter dominance of China and Russia in the digital asset economy. A strategic reserve asset is a resource that a state accumulates to support its defenses and economy. According to Asset manager, Bryan Courchesne, “adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset would be difficult but not impossible”. Trump previously has made clear his intention of leading the crypto-competition ahead of China.
Cryptocurrency adoption in the US could also ease of its growing debt burden. Amid concerns of rising US debt and the risk of US government defaulting over its debts, calls for adopting Bitcoin have intensified. Past week, Elon Musk predicted the destruction of US dollar and bankruptcy of US due to spiraling $35 trillion debt. These dangers have forced the politicians to look for alternatives and some of them have already crowned Bitcoin to be the future. They see Bitcoin as an absolute game changer for the US mess of debt and deficits. Recently, the US Republican Senator from Wyoming Cynthia Lummis has recently introduced a bill that requires the US Treasury to purchase 1 million Bitcoin (worth $68 billion).
The growth of Bitcoin industry in the US would also augment its values of transparency, sovereignty, and freedom that are also the fundamental characteristics of Bitcoin’s open-source codebase.
