Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, US, … [+]
(Full disclosure: I’m helping build Coinbits.app, a bitcoin banking platform.)
At the Bitcoin
Bitcoin
As for the principles, it’s clear that whomever is advising him on bitcoin policy is knowledgeable about both the technology and the culture surrounding digital assets.
One such principle is “Never sell your bitcoin.” (The same point was made one day earlier in a must-watch speech by Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor.) Because the supply of bitcoin is fixed, the purchasing power of any fraction of a bitcoin rises as adoption increases and the economy grows. Trading bitcoin, the hardest money ever created, for assets or currencies that are “softer,” is always a bad trade in the long run.
Next, Trump stated that the dollar is threatened not by bitcoin, but by politicians in Washington, D.C. who have shown themselves to be poor stewards of the world reserve currency. This message was welcomed by a crowd of passionate innovators that has been frustrated at how anti-bitcoin politicians have been characterizing them these past few years.
As for the promises, here are five concrete statements that former President Trump made in his keynote address:
1. Gary Gensler will be fired on day one of a Trump presidency.
Over the past three years, through some combination of incompetence and hostility, Mr. Gensler has used his power over the Securities and Exchange Commission to confuse investors, stymie innovation, and attack good-faith actors.
The eruption of cheers from the crowd when President Trump said he would fire Mr. Gensler spoke to the anger felt by the entire bitcoin industry about his poor leadership.
2. Operation Choke Point 2.0 will be brought to an end.
Operation Choke Point 2.0 refers to a coordinated campaign among the Biden White House, the Federal Reserve, the OCC, the FDIC, and the DOJ to deny bitcoin companies access to traditional financial services.
Over the past few years, bitcoin companies have found it increasingly difficult to open bank accounts, process credit cards, and obtain licenses. This misguided effort to demonize an entire industry has damaged American competitiveness, driving software developers, industrial miners, and bitcoin financial service companies overseas.
With this episode finally behind us and bitcoin flourishing in the U.S., individual Americans will also benefit from downstream effects such as increased financial privacy, reduced inflation, and lower energy prices.
3. A bitcoin advisory council to the President will be established.
As was clear during today’s keynote, President Trump still has much to learn about bitcoin. He was refreshingly deferential on this point – rather than pretending to know more than he did, he acknowledged the expertise of the audience and pledged to include those who have a stake in the industry in the creation of bitcoin policy.
Digital assets will play an increasingly important role in the U.S. economy, touching everything from energy production to monetary policy to power projection. The chief executive will certainly benefit from a council of advisors who can help think through these complex issues.
4. The U.S. government will hodl bitcoin.
Currently, the federal government is estimated to own over 200,000 bitcoins that it obtained during various law enforcement operations. Several times in the past, the federal government has sold bitcoin obtained in this way at auction. (Germany recently liquidated $3 billion worth of bitcoin, a move that may one day in retrospect prove catastrophic.)
President Trump has pledged to hold (or “hodl” in bitcoin parlance) this bitcoin as part of a new strategic bitcoin stockpile. A vocal contingent of bitcoin-friendly lawmakers, led by U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, is coalescing, with a total of four U.S. Senators and three Senate candidates speaking at the conference. Today, Lummis announced a proposal to “supercharge the U.S. dollar” by establishing a program wherein the federal government would acquire one million bitcoins.
5. Ross Ulbricht will be pardoned.
It has been eleven years since Ross Ulbricht was arrested for operating Silk Road, a website where drugs, fraudulent documents, and other illegal items (alongside legal ones) were freely bought and sold using bitcoin. Ulbricht received a double life sentence plus 40 years, which many feel was excessive. A commutation or pardon has long been a cause célèbre for liberty activists. President Trump reaffirmed his intention to pardon Ulbricht, recognizing that the time he has already served is enough to ensure justice was done.
Whether President Trump carries out these promises remains to be seen. However, making them was a savvy political move that will pick up support from voters who view bitcoin as important and see only one viable candidate who recognizes its significance.