Trump, Republicans court crypto votes and dollars at ‘Bitcoin 2024’

By Stephanie Kelly, Suzanne McGee and Hannah Lang

NASHVILLE (Reuters) – Republican Party candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump, who once criticized cryptocurrencies as a “fraud,” is now headlining one of the industry’s biggest conferences.

Trump, who made the comment in 2021, is set to speak on Saturday at the final day of the three-day Bitcoin 2024 convention in Nashville. Former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty and Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis are also set to speak.

Democrats include U.S. Representative Ro Khanna of California.

The industry quickly recovered after FTX and a number of other crypto companies crashed in 2022, sending token prices plummeting and many companies into bankruptcy. Digital asset advocates say crypto users are a growing political force this election season, but it’s unclear how many users will prioritize crypto over other issues at the ballot box.

The Republican Party is trying to win votes by promising lighter regulations, potentially tying a currency created to neutralize the government to a major U.S. political party.

“Crypto has been a neutral topic for most of its history,” said David Yermack, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, because both Republicans and Democrats didn’t understand it or didn’t want to learn more.

“I think Republicans have started to move a little bit faster in this area in the last year or two.”

Stand With Crypto, a nonprofit industry group backed by crypto exchange Coinbase, has organized more than 1.3 million advocates. Meanwhile, three major pro-crypto super political action committees — Fairshake, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, all of which didn’t exist until this cycle — have raised more than $230 million to support friendly candidates.

That impact is already being felt. Fairshake, a super PAC that supports pro-crypto candidates, spent more than $10 million this year against Katie Porter, a progressive Democrat from California who is running for Senate. Porter, who has questioned the impact of bitcoin mining on climate change, lost her primary.

Some crypto advocates support Trump, including the billionaire Winklevoss twins, who founded crypto company Gemini. They each gave him $1 million worth of bitcoin but were forced to take the money back because it exceeded the maximum amount allowed under federal law.

Overall, 7% of U.S. adults held or used crypto in 2023, down 3 percentage points from 2022 and 5 percentage points from 2021, the Federal Reserve reported in May. But the annual convention brings together more politicians than ever before.

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“There’s a joke going around that the speaker list is like RNC Lite,” one attendee said, referring to the Republican National Convention held in Milwaukee in mid-July.

TRUMP’S NEW EMBRACE

Trump’s Bitcoin 2024 appearance is his latest show of support for the industry. He criticized Democrats’ attempts to regulate the industry at a fundraiser in San Francisco in June and met with bitcoin mining companies at his Mar-a-Lago resort last month.

“We have tried to engage with the Biden administration and unfortunately they have not been receptive,” said Jayson Browder, head of public policy at Marathon Digital Holdings, who attended the Mar-a-Lago meeting. “And former President Trump has been more than receptive and is now an active supporter of our industry.”

Trump recently stated that he wants US companies to mine more Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency managers are disturbed by the sanctions decisions taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission during the term of US President Joe Biden.

The Biden-Harris administration will continue to meet with stakeholders and work with Congress to develop the necessary safeguards to capitalize on the potential benefits and opportunities of crypto asset innovation, the White House told Reuters.

If Harris wins the November presidential election, she will likely advance Biden’s crypto policies.

Neither the Trump nor Harris campaigns immediately commented for this article.

Investors who believe Trump will be president for a second term are flocking to asset classes likely to gain momentum under his administration.

Cameron Dawson, chief investment officer at NewEdge Wealth, said cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin in particular, are “by far the cleanest and most direct way to play the Trump trade.”

Conference attendee Hillary Adler, who founded the BitcoinOS operating system, previously voted Democrat but now identifies as a left-libertarian. Adler, who describes herself as an undecided voter, said she was not surprised to see some Republican politicians shifting to support crypto.

“Republicans have always had better long-tail strategies politically,” he said. “Now, they care about crypto.”

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly (Nashville), Suzanne McGee and Hannah Lang (New York); Editing by Heather Timmons and Richard Chang)