Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday said he would build a strategic bitcoin reserve if he wins the U.S. presidential election in November.
"If I am elected, it will be the policy of the United States of America to keep 100% the bitcoins the US government currently holds or acquires in the future," Trump said.
Trump also said that he would "immediately" appoint a bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council upon taking office, if he wins the election.
"Their task will be to design transparent regulatory guidance for the benefit of the entire industry, and they will get it done in 100 days. We will have regulations [for crypto], but from now on, the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry," Trump said.
The former president made the comments on Saturday during a keynote speech at the bitcoin (BTCUSD) conference held in Nashville, Tennessee, in his latest gesture to embrace the crypto industry, after he switched gears in his stance on the sector, having criticised it in the past. Trump has allowed his campaign to accept donations in crypto since May and met with executives at crypto-mining companies in June.
Trump's appearance at the bitcoin conference followed independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s speech at the same conference on Friday. Kennedy said on Friday that he would sign an executive order asking the U.S. Treasury to buy bitcoin every day until the U.S. has a reserve of at least 4 million bitcoin. Bitcoin has a maximum supply of 21 million.
The two presidential candidates' appearance at the conference underscores the growing perception that the crypto community could prove to be an important voting block in the November election.
In the speech, Trump also said he will fire Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on the first day if he takes the office. He added that he would make the U.S. "crypto capital of the Internet" and "bitcoin superpower of the world," if he is elected as president. He also said he wanted bitcoin "mined, minted and made in the U.S."
Such comment is bullish for bitcoin miners as it points to the possibility that obtaining environmental permission to operate bitcoin-focused data centers may get easier, said Joe Nardini, co-Head of investment banking at B. Riley Securities.
Trump also said he will cease considering a central bank digital dollar if he is elected as the president.
Crypto advocates have long been critical of the Biden-Harris administration's approach to digital assets including the SEC's efforts to force crypto issuers to register with the agency in the same fashion that public company issuers of stock do, a demand the industry says is impossible to meet.
Other complaints include a Biden proposal to institute a 30% tax on cryptocurrency miners' energy usage, allegations that Biden administration regulators encouraged banks to get out of the crypto business, and sanctions imposed on cryptocurrency-mixing protocols that enable users to transfer bitcoin anonymously.
Many Democrats have heard these complaints and have made attempts to prove their commitment to supporting the sector and financial innovation.
Scores of House Democrats voted to approve an industry-backed regulatory bill in May that signaled a burgeoning bipartisan consensus that the digital-asset sector is here to stay, including influential figures like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and House Minority Whip, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.
The Senate didn't take up the legislation.
The Biden administration even said that while the president didn't support the specific bill, he wouldn't veto it.
"The administration is eager to work with Congress to ensure a comprehensive and balanced regulatory framework for digital assets...[to] promote the responsible development of digital assets," the administration said in a statement at the time.
"You can be pro-consumer and pro-business at the same time," said Moe Vella, former senior advisor to then Vice President Joe Biden and a regulatory consultant to crypto projects, including the asset-backed cryptocurrency Unicoin.
"Democrats need to start talking more about how we believe in business growth and we don't have any intentions to stifle innovation," he added. "We should be promoting and encouraging innovation, because it's the future of our country."
So far, Trump has been able to win over many high-profile crypto boosters, despite a first term track record that was anything but welcoming to digital assets, in part because the Biden record has angered so many in the community.
Tyler Winklevoss, a billionaire investor and founder of the Gemini crypto exchange summed up this attitude in a Wednesday tweet after it was revealed that the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Kamala Harris would not speak at the conference.
"She can't even take the first step and show up to start mending fences," he wrote on X. "Our industry won't forget this. We will show no mercy in November."
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