Trump vows to fire SEC chairman at Nashville Bitcoin conference

Applause at Bitcoin conference follows Donald Trump’s vow to fire SEC Chairman Glen Gensler

Former President Donald Trump has outlined his plan to make the United States the “cryptocurrency capital of the planet and the world’s Bitcoin superpower,” promising to establish the country’s first strategic Bitcoin stockpile if elected.

Trump is the first presidential candidate from a major political party to make Bitcoin and cryptocurrency a campaign issue, and the first American president to speak at a Bitcoin event, addressing an enthusiastic and packed audience. crowd at Bitcoin 2024 conference at Music City Center in Nashvilletwo weeks after surviving an assassination attempt.

“If cryptocurrency is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA,” Trump said. “If Bitcoin goes to the moon, as they say, ‘goes to the moon,’ I want America to be the nation that leads the way.”

A cornerstone of his plan to make this happen is the first Strategic National Bitcoin Stockpile, seeded with about 210,000 Bitcoins ― valued at about $13 billion ― that the federal government has already obtained through lawful seizures from law enforcement agencies. The U.S. government is among the largest holders of Bitcoin in the world.

“For too long, our government has violated a cardinal rule that every Bitcoiner knows by heart: Never sell your Bitcoin,” he said. “If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration for the United States of America to hold 100% of all Bitcoin that the U.S. government currently holds or acquires.”

While Trump has expressed skepticism about Bitcoin in the past, going as far as calling it “a disaster waiting to happen,” on Saturday he vowed to be a “pro-Bitcoin president.”

Trump took the stage 57 minutes after he was scheduled to speak — and about three hours after access to the room was cut off by the Secret Service. Despite the delay — during which rumors spread of a surprise appearance by Space X CEO Elon Musk, whose plane was flying over Nashville at the time — the crowd remained enthusiastic about the former president.

During his 51-minute speech on Saturday, Trump praised innovation from industry leaders as critical to the nation’s future, comparing the cryptocurrency industry to the steel industry of 100 years ago and calling the crowd “modern-day Edisons and Wright brothers and Carnegies and Henry Fords.”

“America always plants our flag on the next frontier and boldly moves forward,” Trump said. “You are building America’s future with your own intelligence, your own courage and your own skin in the game.”

Trump has made moves in recent months that signal his reversal of policy on cryptocurrencies goes beyond rhetoric. Earlier this year, Trump’s presidential campaign became the first to accept donations in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Since doing so in May, Trump announced on Saturday that his camp has raised $25 million in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He also picked a running mate in Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrencies and revealed in 2022 that he holds Bitcoin.

While in Nashville, Trump is reportedly holding a campaign fundraiser, where top tickets have sold for as much as $844,600 per person — the maximum contribution amount to his joint fundraising committee, the Trump 47 Committee. Photo opportunities with Trump were available for $60,000 per person and $100,000 per couple.

Trump is scheduled to speak at a rally in Minnesota on Saturday night with Vance, aiming to make the historically blue state competitive.

Promises to fire SEC chairman and commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s sentence

Trump made several promises to the world’s top Bitcoiners on Saturday, including appointing a cryptocurrency-friendly council to draft regulations for the industry, increasing U.S. energy production to support Bitcoin mining, commuting Ross Ulbricht’s sentence and “firing” Gary Gensler from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trump has promised to appoint a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency advisory board on his first day in office and task the group with “designing transparent regulatory guidance for the benefit of the entire industry” within 100 days.

“We will have regulations, but for now the rules will be written by people who love their industry, not by people who hate their industry,” he said.

He unveiled his plan to “harness American energy in every form” to bring the lowest cost energy and electricity in the world, which he said would make America “the undisputed mining powerhouse of the world.”

“Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will grow our economy, cement American financial dominance, and strengthen our entire country long into the future,” he said.

Trump also reiterated his promise to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht — the founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road that facilitated the sale of narcotics, who is currently serving a life sentence — prompting chants of “Free Ross! Free Ross!” from the crowd. Trump also said he would end the U.S. Justice Department’s Operation Choke Point, an investigative effort to investigate banks, firearms dealers and payday loan lenders believed to be at high risk of fraud.

But the biggest cheers of the speech came when Trump promised to “fire” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler — an announcement that brought the audience to its feet. Gensler has been hostile to the cryptocurrency industry.

“I didn’t know he was so unpopular,” Trump said. “Let me say it again. On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler.”

The crowd roared again and broke into chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!”

“I will nominate a new SEC chairman who believes America should build the future, not block the future, which is what happened. And Kamala Harris wants to make him Treasury Secretary.”

Ending Biden’s “Anti-Crypto Crusade”

He vowed to stop what he called the Biden Harris administration’s “anti-crypto crusade” and oppose efforts to establish a central bank digital currency – to cheers from the crowd.

Unlike him independent opposition figure Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who spoke at the conference on FridayTrump has not promised to direct the US Treasury to strategically buy Bitcoin to help stabilize the US dollar.

“The moment I take office, the persecution stops and the weaponization of your industry stops, and as long as I am in the Oval Office,” Trump said.

“You’re going to be very happy with me,” Trump said, drawing a laugh. “You’re going to be very happy.”

He celebrated President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race, but criticized Vice President Kamala Harris as “a radical left lunatic” who is “against cryptocurrencies… very much against them.”

“For three and a half years, the current government has waged a war on cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin like no one has ever seen before,” he said.

He encouraged the crowd to get out and vote, warning that if he loses the election, “this country could be over,” calling his political opponents “totalitarians hell-bent on destroying cryptocurrencies.”

“You have the SEC, you know what they’re doing: obliterating Bitcoin. The reason couldn’t be clearer, because Bitcoin represents freedom, sovereignty, and independence from government coercion.”

Trump criticized the Biden administration’s spending, blaming “trillions of dollars of ridiculous waste approved by our opponents” that he said resulted in “the same inflationary disaster that Bitcoiners have always predicted.”

“The bitcoiners understood inflation frankly better than anyone else ― if they had only listened,” Trump said. “20-30% of the value of every dollar was quickly wiped out. The savings of millions of Americans were quickly destroyed. It’s a stealth tax. I called it the Biden tax, now I call it the Harris tax. Inflation is a 50% tax on the people. This is a human tragedy.”

He has promised, if re-elected, to cut regulations, combat inflation and make permanent the tax cuts he passed during his first term.

“Those who say Bitcoin is a threat to the dollar are exactly wrong: Bitcoin is not threatening the dollar,” he said. “The behavior of the current US administration is actually threatening the dollar.”

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn and Former Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Promote Bitcoin

Several Tennessee officials attended or spoke at the Bitcoin conference and expressed support for the cryptocurrency’s integration into the mainstream economy.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., spoke on a panel alongside former presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on Saturday night and shared support for making Bitcoin a 401(k) investment option for federal employees.

Ramaswamy said that Bitcoin should remain apolitical and that political support for Bitcoin comes from the desire to do what is best for the country.

“Capitalism is neutral. Capitalism is what unites us despite our partisan differences,” he said.

Blackburn emphasized his support for the industry and ensuring that people have the personal freedom to invest in Bitcoin.

“The federal government should not be interfering in your transactional life,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn also held a “Biscuits and Bitcoin” campaign event ahead of the conference on Saturday morning with Ramaswamy, former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis on Saturday, which was attended by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.

Later on Saturday, Lummis announced that she will file legislation to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve to establish the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Earlier this month, Blackburn’s campaign announced that it would accept donations contributed in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

— Staff writer Hadley Hitson contributed to this report.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean or at X at @Vivian_E_Jones.

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