In a sharp reversal, former President Donald Trump has embraced the cryptocurrencies he once maligned in an effort to defeat rivals Joe Biden and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. among the technology’s dedicated 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 Truth Social media platform that cryptocurrency users should “vote for Trump!” because he will oppose ‘Biden’s hatred of Bitcoin’.
The statement came after weeks of concerted outreach to crypto enthusiasts and the people leading the fast-growing industry – and it already appears to be paying off. A Bitcoin mining executive who met with Trump told CNBC that his industry is committed to raising more than $100 million this fall and mobilizing more than 5 million voters to help Trump.
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 highly 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 unlawful behavior, including drug trafficking and other illegal activities.”
“We only have one real currency in the United States,” Trump continued, “and it always will be that way. It’s called the American dollar!”
Trump maintained that stance after he left office and as recently as 2021, when he told Fox Business in an interview that bitcoin “just seems like a scam.” In another interview with the network, he said cryptocurrencies seem like a “disaster waiting to happen.”
“I don’t think we should have all the bitcoins in the world on the street. I think they should regulate them very, very tightly,” Trump told Fox Business in August 2021.
Three months ago, in March, Trump told CNBC that his thinking had changed somewhat as the price of Bitcoin recovered after a series of scandals and setbacks. He said crypto was becoming more entrenched and he was “not sure I would want to take it away. on this point.”
By May, Trump had completed his evolution into a full-fledged evangelist of cryptocurrencies ahead of the Libertarian Party’s national convention in Washington, where both he and Kennedy spoke.
In a speech to libertarians that was frequently interrupted by cheers and jeers, Trump was applauded for promising to “stop Joe Biden’s crusade to destroy crypto.”
“I will ensure that the future of crypto and bitcoin will be made in the US and not driven abroad. I will support the right to self-determination of the country’s 50 million crypto holders,” he added. “With your vote, I will keep Elizabeth Warren and her minions away from your bitcoin. And I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency.”
Because mining requires enormous amounts of energy, Trump is now portraying crypto as a national and energy security problem, including for the fossil fuel industry he has pledged to defend.
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 to lead the campaign to victory on November 5.”
The move comes as Trump’s campaign is confident it can draw some young voters — especially young men of color — from their traditional homelands into 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’m not going to question whether it was a political decision,” Kennedy said when asked about Trump’s cryptocurrency pivot at a conference last week in Texas. “I’m glad he did it, and I hope President Biden does too.”
Biden last week issued a rare veto of a crypto industry-backed resolution that would have overturned the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new guidance on cryptocurrencies. “Appropriate guardrails that protect consumers and investors are necessary to realize the potential benefits and opportunities of crypto-asset innovation,” Biden said in his veto message.
A former Biden administration financial regulator who now analyzes the private sector crypto industry but was not authorized to speak publicly said the industry is not convinced Trump will be a reliable ally. given his track record. The industry has grown frustrated with what it sees as hostile rhetoric from Biden’s regulators.
“There is a big battle going on in the sector right now [Trump’s shift] is legit. A lot of people say, ‘Don’t assume this is true because it’s Trump.’ But others say, ‘He says nice things, while the Biden admin doesn’t, so it’s hard not to be convinced of this.’”
“The Biden administrator is being a little f—– here,” the former administration official added, pointing to comments from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler that mocked the industry. “I love them, I support them, I’m going to vote for them. But Gary’s [rehtoric] … is losing trust, losing votes.”
Last month, Gensler said that “the crypto industry’s record of failures, frauds and bankruptcies” came about because “many players in the crypto industry are not playing 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 state, New York, is the nation’s financial capital — and most Democratic senators who will be re-elected this year.
Despite the fall of politically active crypto magnates 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.
One major industry-aligned 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 primaries for Senate to help defeat Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., a Warren protege who has led efforts in Congress to implement stricter guardrails on the new industry.
Still, cryptocurrency’s broader appeal is likely limited.
According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, only 17% of Americans said they had ever traded or invested in cryptocurrency. And three-quarters of people who were aware of cryptocurrencies said they had no confidence in their security and reliability.
But the survey also found that crypto users are younger, male and racially diverse — a key segment of the electorate over which Biden, Trump and Kennedy are all competing.
Trump has not yet provided details of his policies, but his rhetorical reversal is being read by the multibillion-dollar industry as a clear sign that there would be a friendlier regulatory environment in Washington under Trump.
Brian Morgenstern, the head of public policy at Riot Platforms, a bitcoin mining company with a market cap of $3 billion, published an op-ed in Bitcoin Magazine after meeting with Trump this week, declaring the Republican the “best choice for Bitcoin ” used to be.
“The choice is clear. President Trump will protect your right to own Bitcoin, mine Bitcoin, and transact with Bitcoin,” he wrote, adding that the Biden administration was “extremely hostile to Bitcoin.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
