On Saturday, crypto advocates will tune into perhaps the most anticipated political speech in the industry’s short history: former president Donald Trump’s address at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, which is currently underway in Nashville.
At a crucial juncture in the 2024 presidential election, what with the recent attempt on Trump’s life and the shake-up at the top of the Democratic ticket, the eyes of the nation will be on Nashville tomorrow with crypto locked in as the topic of discussion.
Trump’s 30-minute speech, set for Saturday at 2pm local time (3pm ET), is perhaps equally as important to crypto stakeholders in its symbolism as in its substance.
Just months ago, it would have likely been unthinkable for such a prominent political figure—at one of the most crucial junctures of his political life, no less—to attend and endorse an industry gathering like Bitcoin Nashville.
Trump Fever Dominates Bitcoin Nashville Ahead of Appearance
Orange is in vogue at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville this week, but this year’s crypto confab attracted its fair share of attendees adorned in red. Former President Donald Trump’s name was plastered across the conference Thursday, on several adverts and pieces of memorabilia. While his keynote speech was still two days away, bright baseball caps dotting the conference floor underscored his supporters' presence. “This will bring a lot more trust to it,” an attendee named Nico, who declined to provide...
During Trump’s first term in office, he expressed skepticism about Bitcoin and other digital assets, labeling himself “not a fan.” Once out of office, Trump gave his stamp to officially licensed NFT collections, racking up millions of dollars’ worth of sales in the process.
But only in recent months has Trump rebranded as a full-throated defender of the industry, pushing the Republican National Committee to include pro-crypto language in its party platform for the first time ever.
One potential impetus for that pivot has been the remarkable amount of money injected into the 2024 election from American crypto companies and executives. Fairshake, an industry super PAC, has already amassed some $203 million this election cycle, making it the biggest independent political spender in 2024.
Donald Trump and Bitcoin: From 'Not a Fan' to Crypto President—With His Own Meme Coin
Bitcoin-friendly Donald Trump won the election in November, and was inaugurated Monday as the 47th President of the United States of America. But ahead of being formally sworn in, the commander in chief dropped a meme coin on Friday. Yes, you read that right. Running on the Solana network, the TRUMP token already has a market cap of over $8 billion, putting it among the 30 most valuable coins on the market. The move signaled the incoming President’s growing enthusiasm for the digital asset space...
Trump himself has already raked in millions of dollars in crypto contributions to his campaign, as well, though the vast majority of that haul came from crypto executives rather than citizens not employed within the industry.
While Trump’s appearance tomorrow is already significant in and of itself, industry advocates have hopes that his speech will articulate concrete pro-crypto policies that voters should expect to see implemented if the former president retakes the White House.
Topping many crypto users’ wish lists, to that end, is a commitment from Trump that he will incorporate Bitcoin into the strategic reserves of the U.S. government.
Trump Bitcoin Conference Roundtable Seats Are Going for $844,600
While in town for the Bitcoin conference, former president Donald Trump will be hosting a private fundraising round table. A single seat at the roundtable will cost $844,600. And a picture with the former president is priced at $60,000, according to the WinRed website. It was confirmed to Decrypt, just hours after Donald Trump survived an assassation attempt on Saturday, that Trump would deliver an in-person speech at the upcoming Bitcoin conference in Nashville. An invitation shared by Republic...
Building off the Republican Party’s newly adopted pro-crypto platform, others expect him to offer plans to protect Bitcoin mining rights, prevent the establishment of an American central bank digital currency (CBDC), and put to bed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s aggressive and years-long crackdown on crypto firms.
Trump has already earned substantial goodwill from the crypto industry by even opting to attend one of its largest gatherings. Whether attendees get granular policy specifics from Trump—a famously tangent-prone public speaker—or generalized platitudes, they’ll have to wait until Saturday afternoon to find out.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
