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Donald Trump’s promises to the cryptocurrency world face an uphill battle in Washington
Former President Donald Trump and a parade of Republican politicians made several promises to the crypto world at Bitcoin 2024 this past weekend.
But many of these ideas are easier said than done, even if Trump wins.
Trump has promised to appoint a Presidential Advisory Council on Cryptocurrencies, fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, introduce more favorable regulation and ban central bank digital currencies.
Trump also gave his support to an idea dear to the community, that of creating a “strategic national stockpile of bitcoins”.
He received perhaps the loudest cheers Saturday afternoon when he called for the ouster of Gensler, who has led an aggressive crackdown on some of crypto’s biggest players.
The roar visibly surprised the former president, who joked: “I didn’t know he was so unpopular.”
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on July 27 in Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Most of these measures face serious obstacles before they can be implemented. Others may not pose any problems at all.
Create a bitcoin (BTC-USD) stockpiling would likely require a new law in Congress.
Even quickly removing Gensler, who heads an independent agency and whose term doesn’t expire until 2026, could prove difficult. Presidents can fire SEC chairs “for cause,” but a decision to do so quickly if Trump wins could be subject to legal challenges.
As for the urgency of banning a central bank digital currency, the Fed is “not anywhere close” to deploying such technology, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a congressional hearing in March.
A parade of political speakers
But those obstacles didn’t stop a parade of largely Republican politicians from promising attendees action on multiple fronts at the three-day Bitcoin 2024 event in Nashville.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) announced her intention to introduce a bill that would require the U.S. government to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve and acquire 1 million bitcoins using existing funds from the Federal Reserve System and the U.S. Treasury Department.
The aim is to use it only to reduce the national deficit.
“What we’re going to see is that in November, this industry will be on the ballot,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) added at the conference Friday.
Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Tim Scott (R-SC) speak together on stage on July 26 at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images) (Jon Cherry via Getty Images)
Trump also raised money during his Nashville stop with a fundraiser where attendees paid between $60,000 and $844,600 to attend, according to an online registration form.
Fairshake, the crypto industry’s largest super PAC, has also currently raised more than any other super PAC – $202.94 million – according to data followed by Open Secrets.
The group has spent just $14 million, meaning its impact could be felt deeply in the months ahead. The group says it will support candidates who commit to a “clearer regulatory and legal framework.”
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Another 2024 candidate, Robert Kennedy Jr., also promised the crowd that, if elected, he would build a strategic reserve of bitcoin until the United States holds 4 million bitcoins (worth about $272 billion).
“I think it’s a good thing if the price goes up,” he added in an interview with Yahoo Finance, reiterating: “I’ve invested a lot of my personal wealth in it, not particularly to make money, but simply because it’s perfectly aligned with my values.”
“Bigger than the RNC”
Some conference attendees said they were excited about what they saw as validation of their industry.
“This bitcoin conference is going to be bigger than the RNC, bigger than the DNC, bigger than the NRA,” said Russell Okung, a former professional football player for the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers who once tried to get his NFL salary paid in bitcoin.
But Okung, as he moved from panel to panel Friday, was quick to add a note of wariness about all the new attention.
“They’re going to want to pander to that audience,” he noted. “Why? Because we’re becoming the most powerful force in the world, not just the nation.”
Bitcoin rose in the days following Trump’s speech above $70,000, approaching a new all-time high, but then fell on Monday.
It has risen more than 50% through 2024, largely driven by its adoption by Wall Street with the launch of the industry’s first exchange-traded funds earlier this year.
Despite a rocky climb in Washington, cryptocurrency industry executives are now salivating at the prospect that a strategic reserve of bitcoin in the United States could spark a new wave of FOMO domestically.
“Countries may feel compelled to also buy bitcoin, not because they necessarily believe in its intrinsic value, but because they fear the consequences of being a late adopter and being left behind,” Vance Spencer, co-founder of venture capital firm Framework Ventures, said in emailed comments.
“Most people have no idea what it is.”
The weekend’s impact on the 2024 race remains to be seen, with the political world still adjusting after five seismic weeks that upended the race. Another open question is how much Trump’s embrace of cryptocurrencies will ultimately mobilize new voters.
The Bitcoin 2024 conference attracted a predominantly male audience, as seen in the lead-up to Trump’s speech. The line for the men’s restrooms was around the main stage seats, while there was no line for the women’s restrooms.
Attendees watch independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. deliver a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on July 26 in Nashville. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images) (Jon Cherry via Getty Images)
The ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris also complicated the weekend.
Harris’ rapid rise to presumptive Democratic nominee a few days after the end of Joe Biden’s campaign shook up the 2024 race, as did an impressive fundraising tally from $200 million in just one week.
“And she’s against crypto, by the way, and she’s very much against it,” Trump told the audience.
However, Harris has not defined a position, and some community members are tentatively optimistic that she might be open to their concerns after a career spent in San Francisco politics.
Despite all the attention and promises made by Trump and other politicians this weekend, many bitcoin advocates aren’t ready to claim victory.
“There’s no denying that at this point you see these politicians speaking at these events because of their growing popularity, but if you go out and talk to people in this city, it’s like saying, ‘Wasn’t bitcoin a scam?’” said Stephen Schellbach, co-director of the nonprofit Open Source Justice.
This is one area where Trump and his audience could be in sync on Saturday.
“I don’t think you’ve ever seen anything like it, and most people have no idea what it is,” Trump joked to the crowd.
David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto, and other areas of finance. Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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