The man who could be re-elected as president in November will be on stage at Bitcoin 2024, in a landmark moment for the world’s biggest cryptocurrency.
The Bitcoin 2024 conference is just around the corner, with thousands of devotees set to descend on Nashville to talk all things crypto.
There’s several things that look set to be different this year. For one, the event’s taking a break from Miami for a while, where the industry’s best and brightest had gathered in a cavernous convention center.
Sentiment surrounding BTC will also be much more upbeat. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was trading at $26,832.21 on the first day of Bitcoin 2023 in May last year. It’s since accelerated by more than 140%.
The make-up of attendees has changed dramatically in recent years as adoption grows — moving away from a small number of nerds to a rich and diverse range of investors, entrepreneurs, developers and influencers.
January’s approval of exchange-traded funds based on Bitcoin’s spot price has had a seismic impact when it comes to institutional investors, meaning we could see a greater presence from Wall Street between July 25 and 27.
But the most headline-grabbing announcement of all is that Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s newly minted presidential nominee, will be taking to the stage in Tennessee — despite recently being the subject of an assassination attempt.
It’s hard to emphasize how much of a significant development this is for Bitcoin, and a reflection of how far this feisty, decentralized cryptocurrency has come in recent years.
Why? Because it cements how BTC has become an issue of national importance for voters — and part of the political discourse. Just a few years ago, it seemed fanciful that a U.S. presidential frontrunner would ever carve time out of a campaign schedule to attend.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Trump offers any insights into his legislative priorities for crypto — hints about what Bitcoiners could expect if he makes it back into the Oval Office. Any tangible announcements would have the potential to move markets in real-time.
That being said, it’s just as likely he’ll wheel out his usual criticisms of President Joe Biden, not to mention Gary Gensler’s record as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and end up taking his speech wildly off topic by talking about something that has nothing to do with Bitcoin.
Reports have also suggested that the conference will double up as a fundraising drive — with Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey hoping to raise $15 million in contributions to Trump’s campaign.
Trump isn’t going to be the only politician on stage either, far from it. Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty is appearing on a panel exploring the policy outlook for Bitcoin in 2025, which could offer clues on how Congress plans to tackle legislation after the election. His colleague Marsha Blackburn will also be sharing a stage with one-time Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Beyond that, it’ll be a roll call of the usual faces that appear year after year. MicroStrategy’s executive chairman Michael Saylor is set to give a 30-minute keynote, fresh from his company snapping up 1% of the Bitcoin that will ever exist to hold in reserve. Cathie Wood’s another firm favorite of the crowd, as is Custodia Bank’s Caitlin Long.
As ever, there are also a few attendees that are bound to cause controversy. One of them is the British comedian Russell Brand, who has faced multiple accusations of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior from several women. He’s faced an investigation from police and has been questioned by detectives.
The fallout from reports of his conduct in the British press has been severe. Brand was dropped by his agent, who said they had been “horribly misled” by the fallen star. A nationwide comedy tour was canceled, while his YouTube stopped his page from receiving advertising income.
He’s now moved away to a lesser-known video-sharing site called Rumble, with his politics lurching even further to the right. Brand even made an appearance at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. While some Bitcoiners will welcome his appearance with open arms and rail against what they call “cancel culture,” you’ve got to wonder about the message this sends to women — many of whom will be in attendance.
Beyond the usual chin-scratching conversations about mining, banking, and regulation, there will probably be another glaring omission at Bitcoin 2024: the lack of a huge rabbit-out-of-the-hat announcement as seen when Nayib Bukele declared that El Salvador was embracing BTC as legal tender back in 2021.
Despite all of that, this is shaping up to be a news-making conference. Who knows, we could even see some TV networks take Trump’s speech live, potentially introducing Bitcoin to countless Americans in the process.