Trump calls for US to be ‘crypto capital of the planet’ in appeal to Nashville bitcoin conference

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump outlined plans Saturday to wholeheartedly embrace cryptocurrency if he wins a second term, telling hundreds of enthusiastic supporters of the digital token that he wants the United States to become a “bitcoin superpower” under his leadership.

In his keynote speech at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, the Republican presidential candidate pledged to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” and create a Bitcoin “strategic reserve” using the currency the government currently holds.

He also promised to remove Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and establish a crypto advisory board if elected, and excited the crowd by asking attendees if anyone wanted to join.

“We will have regulations, but from now on, the rules will be written by those who love your industry, not by those who hate your industry,” he said.

Trump’s keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference showed how radically his stance on cryptocurrencies has changed over time.

He wasn’t always a fan of cryptocurrencies; he wrote on social media in 2019 that their “values ​​are very volatile and are driven by the weather.”

He has embraced digital currency in recent years, and in May his campaign began accepting donations in cryptocurrency.

Throughout his nearly 50-minute speech, Trump sought to contrast his support for cryptocurrency with the Biden administration’s efforts to regulate the industry, telling the crowd that the federal government was “blocking their path.” Trump said he wanted cryptocurrency to be “mined, minted and manufactured” in the United States.

The former president addressed bitcoin fans, recalling the seizure of digital tokens by US law enforcement agencies.

“They took him from you,” he said. “So today I renew my commitment to commute Ross Ulbricht’s sentence while we take steps to transform this tremendous fortune into an enduring national asset for the benefit of all Americans.”

Ulbricht founded the underground drug sales site Silk Road but was sentenced to life in prison after a judge found him responsible for six overdose deaths linked to the website. Some of the approximately 800 attendees who packed into downtown Nashville to hear Trump speak wore “Free Ross Day One” hats in reference to Ulbricht’s prison sentence.

Marsha Blackburn, US Senator from Tennessee, called Trump’s announcement of the Bitcoin strategic reserve a “historic moment.”

Trump’s statements came a day after independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at the conference and floated the idea of ​​launching a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.