In a sharp reversal, former President Donald Trump has embraced the cryptocurrencies he once reviled, seeking to outdo rivals Joe Biden and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. between the technology’s devoted young fan base – and its deep-pocketed executives.
Hours after meeting with bitcoin miners at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Wednesday, the former president said on his social media platform Truth that cryptocurrency users should “vote for Trump!” because he will resist “Biden’s hatred of Bitcoin”.
The announcement came after weeks of joint outreach with crypto enthusiasts and people leading the emerging industry — and it already appears to be paying off. A bitcoin mining executive who met with Trump told CNBC that his industry has committed to raising over $100 million and getting more than 5 million voters to help Trump this fall.
But just a few years ago, when Trump was in the White House, he made it clear that he was not a fan of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is very volatile and based on thin air,” he said in a series of social media posts in 2019 while still in office. “Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate illegal behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activities.”
“We only have one real currency in the US,” Trump continued, “and it will always remain that way. It’s called the United States Dollar!”
Trump held this position after he left office and until 2021, when he told Fox Business in an interview that bitcoin “just seems like a scam.” In another interview with the network, he said that cryptocurrencies seemed like a “disaster waiting to happen.”
“I don’t think we should have all the bitcoins in the world out there. I think they should regulate them very, very high,” Trump told Fox Business in August 2021.
Three months ago, in March, Trump told CNBC that his opinion had changed slightly after bitcoin’s price rebounded after a series of scandals and setbacks, saying the crypto was becoming more entrenched and that he was “not sure i would like to remove it. at this point.”
In May, Trump had completed his evolution to become a full-fledged cryptocurrency evangelist on the eve of the Libertarian Party’s national convention in Washington, where both he and Kennedy spoke.
In a speech to libertarians that was often interrupted by cheers and jeers, Trump won applause after vowing to “stop Joe Biden’s crusade to crush crypto.”
“I will ensure that the future of crypto and bitcoin will be made in the US, not directed overseas. I will support the right to self-care for the country’s 50 million crypto holders,” he added. “With your vote, I will keep Elizabeth Warren and her goons away from your bitcoin. And I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency.”
Because mining requires large amounts of energy, Trump now portrays crypto as a matter of national security and energy, including the fossil fuel industry he has promised to protect.
His campaign also announced that it would become the first major presidential campaign in history to accept cryptocurrency donations, pledging to “build a crypto-army that will carry the campaign to victory on November 5th.”
The move comes as Trump’s campaign feels confident it can lure some young voters — especially young blacks — away from their traditional home in the Democratic Party, and as Trump and his allies step up their attacks on Kennedy.
Kennedy is an outspoken supporter of cryptocurrencies, whose first public appearance as a presidential candidate came at a bitcoin conference in Miami last year.
“I wouldn’t question whether it was a political decision,” Kennedy said when asked about Trump’s cryptocurrency shift at a conference in Texas last week. “I’m glad he did it and I hope President Biden does too.”
Biden last week issued a rare veto of a resolution backed by the crypto industry that would have overturned new Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines for cryptocurrencies. “Adequate safeguards that protect consumers and investors are necessary to harness the potential benefits and innovation opportunities of crypto-assets,” Biden said in his veto message.
A former Biden administration financial regulator who now analyzes the crypto industry in the private sector but was not authorized to speak publicly said the industry is not convinced Trump will be a reliable ally, given his past. The industry has grown frustrated with what it perceives as hostile rhetoric from Biden’s regulators.
“There’s a big fight in the industry right now if [Trump’s shift] it is legal. A lot of people say, ‘Don’t assume it’s because it’s Trump.’ But others say, ‘He’s saying nice things, and the Biden administration isn’t, so it’s hard not to be convinced by that.’
“The Biden administration is kind of a f—– up here,” added the former administration staffer, referring to remarks seen as mockery of the industry by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. “I love them, I support them, I will vote for them. But Gary’s [rehtoric] … is the loss of trust, the loss of votes.”
Last month, Gensler said the crypto industry’s “record of failures, frauds and bankruptcies” came about because “many players in the crypto industry don’t play by the rules.”
Mark Cuban, the billionaire Democrat, warned Biden in a response to X that he “must choose between Gensler or crypto voters or it could cost him the White House.”
Several Democratic congressional leaders voted in favor of the resolution that Biden vetoed, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — whose home state, New York, is the nation’s financial capital — and most Democratic senators up for re-election this year.
Despite the fall of politically active crypto tycoons like Sam Bankman-Fried, the industry has dramatically expanded its political footprint in Washington as the industry faces new regulatory threats from Congress and the SEC.
An industry-affiliated super PAC, Fairshake, has already raised $93 million and spent more than $40 million, according to campaign finance reports. That included $10 million in California’s Democratic Senate primary to help defeat Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., a Warren protege who has led efforts in Congress to apply tighter handrails to new industry.
However, the broader appeal of the cryptocurrency is likely to be limited.
According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, only 17% of Americans said they have ever traded or invested in cryptocurrencies. And three-quarters of people who were aware of cryptocurrencies said they were unsure of their safety and reliability.
But the survey also showed that crypto users are younger, male and racially diverse — a key segment of voters that Biden, Trump and Kennedy are all competing on.
Trump has yet to detail the specifics of the policy, but his about-face rhetoric is being read by the multibillion-dollar industry as a clear sign that there would be a friendlier regulatory climate in Washington under Trump.
Brian Morgenstern, head of public policy at Riot Platforms, a bitcoin mining company with a $3 billion market cap, published an op-ed in Bitcoin magazine after meeting with Trump this week stating that the Republican was “the best solution for Bitcoin” .
“The choice is clear. President Trump will protect your right to own Bitcoin, to mine Bitcoin, to transact with Bitcoin,” he wrote, adding that the Biden administration “has been extremely hostile to Bitcoin.”