Trump proposes strategic national crypto stockpile: ‘Never sell your bitcoin’

NASHVILLE
—
Former
President
Donald
Trump
said
that
if
he
were
returned
to
the
White
House,
he
would
ensure
that
the
federal
government
never
sells
off
its
bitcoin
holdings.
But
he
stopped
short
of
proposing
a
formal
federal
reserve
of
digital
currency.

“For
too
long
our
government
has
violated
the
cardinal
rule
that
every
bitcoiner
knows
by
heart:
Never
sell
your
bitcoin,”
Trump
said
during
his
keynote
speech
at
this
year’s
Bitcoin
Conference
in
Nashville,
the
biggest
bitcoin
conference
of
the
year.

The
former
president’s
remarks
came
as
the
race to capture the votes and the
campaign
cash of America’s
frontline
fintech
adopters takes
center
stage
in
the
2024 presidential
contest.

“This
afternoon
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
and
we’ll
get
it
done,”
Trump
said.

But
Trump’s
pledge
to
simply
maintain
the
U.S.
government’s
current
bitcoin
holdings
was
a
less
radical
pitch
to
the
crypto
crowd
relative
to
other
proposals
at
the
conference.

Third-party
candidate

Robert
F.
Kennedy
Jr.,
for
instance,
during
his
Friday
Bitcoin
Conference
speech
promised
to
launch
a
reserve
of
4
million
bitcoin,
starting
with
the
bitcoin
holdings
that
the
U.S.
government
already
has
stockpiled
from
criminal
seizures.
Kennedy
said
he
would
mandate
the
government
purchase
550
bitcoin
a
day
until
the
reserve
reached
4
million.

Shortly
after
Trump’s
speech,
Sen.
Cynthia
Lummis,
R-Wy.,
read
out
her
own
legislative
proposal
to
amass
an
official
U.S.
federal
reserve
of
1
million
bitcoin
over
five
years.

“It
will
be
held
for
a
minimum
of
20
years
and
can
be
used
for
one
purpose:
Reduce
our
debt,”
Lummis
said.

The
price
of
bitcoin
briefly
dipped
during
Trump’s
speech,
but
recovered
and
was
up
slightly
for
the
day,
as
of
5:15
p.m.
E.T.

Throughout
his
remarks,
the
former
president
worked
to
draw
contrasts
between
the
Republican
Party’s
growing
embrace
of
crypto
versus
the
hardline
regulatory
approach
that
has
characterized
the
Biden
administration.

“The
Biden-Harris
administration’s
repression
of
crypto
and
bitcoin
is
wrong
and
it’s
very
bad
for
our
country,”
Trump
said.
“Let
me
tell
you
if
they
win
this
election,
every
one
of
you
will
be
gone.
They
will
be
vicious.
They
will
be
ruthless.
They
will
do
things
that
you
wouldn’t
believe.”

Trump
went
on
to
list
a
series
of
crypto-friendly
promises
to
a
crowd
of
cheering
bitcoin
supporters,
promising
to
dismantle
what
he
called
the
“anti-crypto
crusade”
of
President
Joe
Biden
and
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris.

“On
day
one,
I
will
fire
Gary
Gensler,”
Trump
said,
referencing
the
Biden-appointed
chairman
of
the

Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
who
has
taken
an
aggressive
approach
to
crypto
regulation.

The
president
does
not
have
the
power
to
fire
appointed
commissioners.
Even
if
Trump
were
to
appoint
a
new
SEC
chairman,
Gensler
would
remain
a
commissioner
on
the
independent
agency.

The
former
president
also
pledged
to
create
a
“bitcoin
and
crypto
presidential
advisory
council.”

“The
rules
will
be
written
by
people
who
love
your
industry,
not
hate
your
industry,”
Trump
said.

The
Republican
presidential
nominee
also
held
an
accompanying
fundraiser
in
Nashville,

with
tickets
topping
out
at
$844,600.
In
June,
BTC
Inc.
CEO

David
Bailey,
who
organized
the
conference,
pledged
to
raise
$100
million
and
turn
out
more
than
5,000,000
voters
for
the
Trump
re-election
effort,
as
the
bitcoin
sector
increasingly
turns
to
the
Trump
camp
for
support.

Trump
taking
the
main
stage
to
directly
address
the
bitcoin
community
is
the
latest
in
a
months-long
campaign
to
appeal
to
the
crypto
contingent,
including

accepting
donations
in
virtual
tokens,
pledging
to
end
President
Joe
Biden’s
“war
on
crypto,”
and
advocating
that

all
future
bitcoin
be
made
in
America.
It
is
also
quite
the
about-face
by
the
Republican
presidential
nominee.

Trump
very
publicly
dismissed


bitcoin
when
he
was
in
the
White
House.
In

July
2019,
he
said
he
was
“not
a
fan”
of
bitcoin
and
other
cryptocurrencies.
He
said
that
tokens
aren’t
money,
that
their
value
was
“based
on
thin
air,”
and
warned
that
unregulated
crypto
assets
could
help
facilitate
the
drug
trade,
among
“other
illegal
activity.”

“Bitcoin
just
seems
like
a
scam,”
he
told
Fox
in
a
phone
interview
in
2021.
“I
don’t
like
it
because
it’s
another
currency
competing
against
the
dollar.”

“I
want
the
dollar
to
be
the
currency
of
the
world,
that’s
what
I’ve
always
said,”
continued
Trump
in
his
conversation
with
Fox.

But
five
years,
a
lost
presidential
election,
and
millions
of
dollars
from
the
crypto
lobby
later,
the
Republican
presidential
nominee
sung
the
praises
of
the
digital
currency
at
the

biggest
bitcoin
conference
of
the
year
in
Nashville,
which
kicked
off
on
Thursday.

“Bitcoin
stands
for
freedom,
sovereignty
and
independence
from
government
coercion
and
control,”
Trump
said
during
his
keynote
speech.

Trump’s
shift
on
bitcoin
comes
as
the
Republican
Party
pledges
to
lift
the
red
tape
of
the
Biden-Harris
administration,
working
to
turn
crypto
regulation
into
a
voting
issue
for
November,
especially
as
inflation
consistently
ranks
as
a
top
voter
priority
in
polls.

As
crypto
lobbyists
and
supporters
become
more
of
a
presence
in
Washington,
it
raises
questions
on
whether
the
Democratic
Party
will
dig
into
the
hardline
regulatory
approach
of
the
past
several
years
or
ease
its
position.

“Every
presidential
candidate
needs
to
understand,
digital
asset,
pro-innovation
voters
are
here
to
stay,”
Democratic
Rep.
Wiley
Nickel
of
North
Carolina
told
CNBC
in
an
interview,
adding
that
crypto
regulation
should
not
become
a
“partisan
political
football.”

“I
want
to
keep
this
as
a
bipartisan
issue.
I
don’t
want
Donald
Trump
to
politicize
this
issue,”
Rep.
Nickel
said.

Rep.
Ro
Khanna,
D-Ca.,
echoed
Rep.
Nickel’s
sentiment,
saying
that
crypto
should
not
turn
into
a
partisan
talking
point
but
will
require
regulation
like
any
technology.

“I
don’t
really
see
why
it’s
partisan.
Being
against
bitcoin
is
like
being
against
cell
phones.
It’s
like
being
against
AI.
It’s
like
being
against
laptops,”
Khanna
told
CNBC.
“It’s
a
technology.
Have
thoughtful
regulation
on
the
technology,
but
it’s
a
technology
that
has
appreciated
from
about
$10,000
to
$80,000.”

Reps.
Khanna
and
Nickel
were
two
of
the
only
Democrats
to
attend
the
Bitcoin
Conference.

Bitcoin
2024
conference
organizers
say
they
were
briefly
in
talks
to
have
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
appear
at
the
conference,
though
she
ultimately
declined.
But
billionaire
businessman
Mark
Cuban
posted
on
X
that
the
Harris
campaign
had
reached
out
with
questions
about
crypto,
so
it
appears
the
vice
president
is
looking
into
this
space
and
potentially
figuring
out
where
her
policies,
if
elected
president,
could
land.

“I
think
we’re
going
to
hear
from
Vice
President
Harris
soon
on
this.
And
I’m
very
optimistic
we’re
gonna
get
a
reset.
And
that
I
think,
will
matter
in
a
major
way,”
Rep.
Nickel
said.
“This
issue
isn’t
going
anywhere.
And
we’ve
got
to
make
sure
we
continue
to
embrace
this
in
bipartisan
way.”

Harris’
team
has
already
begun
to
reach
out
to
people
close
to
crypto
companies
to
set
up
meetings,
the

Financial
Times
reported
on
Saturday.

The
recent
thaw
in
Trump’s
sentiment
for
the
digital
asset
space
has
coincided
with
a
sudden
influx
of
interest
and
cash
from
the
country’s
top
tech
talent.

He
has
raised
more
than
$4
million
in
a
mix
of
cryptocurrencies,
including
bitcoin,
ether,
the
U.S.
dollar
pegged
stablecoin
USDC,
and
various
memecoins,
with
contributors
hailing
from
12
states,
including
a
few
battlegrounds. 

Crypto
billionaire
twins
and
venture
investors
Tyler
and
Cameron
Winklevoss
led
the
charge,
each
contributing
15.57
bitcoin,
or
just
over
$1
million
at
the
time
of
their
donation,
according
to
a
filing
with
the
Federal
Election
Commission
—
though
they
received
a
partial
refund,
because
contributions
surpassed
the
$844,600
limit.

There
are
a
number
of
other
venture
capitalists
who
are
pro-crypto,
and
they’ve
pledged
millions
to
the
Trump
campaign,
as
well.

Venture
capitalists
Marc
Andreessen
and
Ben
Horowitz

told
employees
of
Andreessen
Horowitz
(a16z)
that
they
plan
to
make
significant
donations
to
political
action
committees
supporting 
Trump’s campaign.
The
partners
of
Sequoia
Capital
are
backing
Trump,
as
is
venture
investor

David
Sacks,
who
helped
the
former
president
raise
$12
million
at
a
fundraiser
he
hosted
in
his
San
Francisco
home.
The
chief
legal
officers
for
centralized
crypto
exchange


Coinbase
and
blockchain
giant
Ripple

were
both
there.

These
members
of
the
tech
elite
are
also
heavily
contributing
to
pro-crypto
super
PACs
like
Fairshake,
which
has
raised
more
than
$200
million
dollars
to
elect
pro-crypto
candidates
up
and
down
the
ballot,
and
on
both
sides
of
the
aisle.

But
reporting
from
NBC
News
finds
that
the
vice
president’s
team
is
looking
to
win
over
support
from
some
of
big
tech’s
undecided
donors,
many
of
whom
remained
on
the
sidelines
while
President
Joe
Biden
remained
in
the
race.
Their
tune
may
be
changing
now
that
the
vice
president
is
the
de
facto
nominee
for
the
party.

It
helps
that
Harris
has
a
long
track
record
in
California. 

She
has
been
fundraising
in
the
tech
community
for
years,
including
from
those
working
at


Amazon,


Alphabet,


Microsoft
and


Apple.

“The
pivot
that
has
occurred
in
the
last
three
days
is
dramatic,”
Steve
Westly,
a
venture
capitalist
and
one-time
gubernatorial
candidate
for
California,

told
NBC
News.
“I
don’t
think
I’ve
ever
seen
such
a
surge
of
enthusiasm
in
any
campaign
I’ve
been
involved
with.” 

This
comes
as
Trump’s
running
mate
for
vice
president,
JD
Vance,
is
set
to
hold
a
fundraiser
of
his
own
in
Palo
Alto
on
Monday. 

—

CNBC’s
Rebecca
Picciotto
contributed
to
this
report.