At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, former President Donald Trump delivered a keynote address on July 27. He expressed strong support for the cryptocurrency industry and outlined his plan for a national Bitcoin reserve if elected.
Trump emphasized his desire to make the United States a global leader in cryptocurrency. He criticized current regulatory approaches and highlighted issues like the U.S. SEC Chair, SAB 121, CBDCs, and stablecoins. Trump announced a strategic plan to maintain a national Bitcoin stockpile, saying, “It will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the Bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future.”
He also promised to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet,” arguing that failing to embrace cryptocurrency could allow other countries, like China, to dominate the sector. Trump said, “If we don’t embrace crypto and Bitcoin technology, China will, other countries will, they’ll dominate […] We want China to be successful, but we have to be the most successful.”
Addressing the audience’s frustration with current leadership, Trump pledged to remove SEC Chair Gary Gensler on his first day in office. The statement received cheers from the crowd, highlighting the crypto industry’s dissatisfaction with Gensler’s regulation-by-enforcement policy.