The world’s crypto capital and BTC reserves: Bitcoin 2024 main highlights 

American politicians who support the cryptocurrency industry spoke at the Bitcoin 2024 conference held in Nashville from July 25-27.

The crypto.news editorial team, who attended the event, brought together the main topics raised at the conference.

USA to become the crypto capital of the world

Presidential candidate Donald Trump has directly touched on Bitcoin (BTC) while mainly addressing issues related to his election campaign.

Trump specifically said that the first cryptocurrency would become the ninth most valuable asset in the world, surpassing gold and silver in terms of market value.

“If we don’t embrace crypto and Bitcoin technology, China will adopt it, other countries will adopt it, they will dominate […] We want China to be successful, but we must be the most successful.”

Donald Trump, presidential candidate

The US presidential candidate said the current administration has declared war on cryptocurrencies and BTC. Authorities have stifled financial services and prevented Americans from transferring their assets to exchanges, he said.

The politician added that Kamala Harris, the US vice president and the most likely candidate for the Democratic presidential post, is worse than former candidate Joe Biden. According to Trump, she is “crazy” and strongly opposes cryptocurrencies.

Trump noted that the price of Bitcoin increased by 3,900 percent during his four years in power, rising from $898 the day he took office to $35,900 the day he left.

The politician also said that he would fire the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission on the first day of his presidency. Trump added that he would appoint a person to the post who would not hinder America’s future.

Trump has also vowed to make the US a mining hub and said he will not allow the sale of the 210,000 BTC stored on the country’s balance sheet. He believes the decision to store the assets will make BTC the “core” of the strategic national reserve.

Buying 1 million BTC for the US

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis also announced a bill during the conference that would purchase 1 million BTC for the US balance sheet, equivalent to 5% of the asset’s total supply.

He believes that creating a Bitcoin reserve will help strengthen the dollar against rising inflation and solidify the US’s leadership in the global financial system.

Lummis noted that diversifying into BTC is necessary to create a bright future for Americans. According to the senator, the first cryptocurrency will be stored on America’s balance sheet for 20 years, and the only thing that can be spent on assets will be to pay off the country’s national debt.

The bill would create a decentralized, secure network to store BTC under the management of the U.S. Treasury Department. Additionally, this strategic reserve would not infringe on individual financial freedoms.

Daily Bitcoin purchase

Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also supported Bitcoin, stating that most of his wealth was in BTC.

The politician said that in 2024, if he is elected president of the United States, he will first issue an executive order requiring the Department of Justice to transfer 204,000 BTC to the Federal Reserve to be held as a strategic asset. In addition, the US Treasury Department will be required to purchase 550 BTC daily until the country’s total capital reaches 4 million BTC.

The politician also plans to completely eliminate taxation on transactions using dollars and Bitcoin. However, he did not rule out a scenario where BTC would be used for real estate investments as part of a tax-free exchange.

Bitcoin to Reach $13 Million in 2045

During the conference, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor said that Bitcoin prices will reach $13 million by 2045. With the current Bitcoin price being around $65,000, the market cap is $1.3 trillion – just 0.1% of the world’s wealth. He said that digital gold, which yields around 29% annually, will reach $280 trillion by 2045 and yield 7%.

Saylor called on viewers to be Bitcoin maximalists: Buy the first cryptocurrency, transfer all your assets and move to a low-tax jurisdiction to invest the money you save in digital gold.

Bitcoin privacy issues

Also, former NSA and CIA employee Edward Snowden called on American voters to be critical and not trust politicians.

Snowden expressed serious concerns about the privacy issues of the first cryptocurrency, reminding us that despite popular misconception, Bitcoin transactions are only partially anonymous because they can be traced back to specific individuals.

According to him, many legislators are trying to win the affection of the Bitcoin community:

“They are not our tribe. They are not your person. They have their own interests, values, and pursuits. Try to get what you need from them, but don’t give yourself to them, even if you have to vote for them.”

Edward Snowden, former NSA and CIA employee Interest in cryptocurrencies is low

Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, said the firm has seen little client interest in cryptocurrencies beyond BTC and ETH, adding that the firm expects only a few crypto ETFs to emerge beyond those two major digital assets.

Mitchnick also noted that most BlackRock clients view BTC and ETH as complementary assets rather than competing ones. He predicted that investors could allocate around 20% of their crypto assets to ETH and the rest to BTC.

Final words

The involvement of so many political figures in Bitcoin 2024 highlights the growing role of the crypto sector in the United States.

As November approaches, it is clear that policymakers are increasingly interested in the cryptocurrency sector, which has become an indispensable part of the US political arena.