Recently, news has been increasingly appearing in which Donald Trump raises the problems of the crypto community. It is noteworthy that just a few years ago, the current US presidential candidate from the Republican Party was an implacable opponent of bitcoin and other digital assets.
Especially for ForkLog, Fyodor Ivanov, director of analytics at SHARD, figured out how Trump's rhetoric has changed, what role cryptocurrencies play in the politician's election campaign and what this can lead to.
What happened before
Back in 2019, then-President Trump strongly criticized bitcoin. The American leader called cryptocurrencies "a disaster that is just waiting to happen" and "fake money," emphasizing the use of digital assets in illegal activities.
The essence of Trump's policy succinctly fits into the slogan Make America Great Again, and the greatness of the United States is largely based on the dollar. Apparently, five years ago, it seemed to Trump that crypto assets posed a threat to the national currency.
Over time, a certain softening of the politician's views followed. This happened against the background of discontent of the crypto community and some financial circles with the current president Joe Biden.
Criticism was primarily caused by pressure from exchange regulators — the SEC and the CFTC. Trump began to delve more into the issues and, apparently, realized how to get additional political points on this.
Starting in 2022, the billionaire's team has been actively promoting his brand in the cryptocurrency world — for example, through the NFT collection of Trump Digital Trading Cards. At the moment, the politician's cryptocurrency assets are estimated at about $20 million.
Trump's views have changed significantly since the start of the election race. Recently, it seems that the Republican candidate has identified cryptocurrency supporters as one of the important groups of voters.
Why does Trump need Bitcoin?
By the beginning of the active phase of the election campaign, Trump's views had finally changed. Apparently, the politician realized the economic potential of cryptocurrencies, the role of the United States in this industry and its problems. It was realized that they would not threaten America's hegemony if the United States could control the market and set trends.
This fits well with Trump's political strategy: such measures make it possible to further highlight the "weakness" of the current president and his administration, which pay too little attention to such an important issue.
Now we see that the topic of cryptocurrencies has been raised by the politician constantly. At one of his speeches to voters in May 2024, Trump said that he was not against cryptocurrencies and wanted them to be "good and reliable." He urged supporters of the digital economy to vote for him, criticizing the Biden administration's regulatory measures.
Industry support has a serious advantage — it allows you to attract younger voters who traditionally vote for Democrats.
At the beginning of the summer, rumors appeared in the media space that Trump was actively consulting with Elon Musk on this issue. At an event in San Francisco on June 9, he called himself a "crypto president", stressing that thanks to the actions of the current US administration, the country risks losing to its competitors in the battle for the market.
Now Trump's rhetoric boils down to the fact that the States must maintain technological leadership, and every bitcoin must be mined in the United States. If he wins the upcoming elections, he promises to solve all regulatory problems, protect the industry from government pressure, and create a better climate for the development of crypto business in the world.
https://forklog.com/exclusive/ot-kritiki-do-obeshhanij-zashhitit-bitkoin-chto-i-pochemu-politiki-ssha-govoryat-o-kriptovalyutahWhat Trump promises
Regulatory uncertainty persists in the United States, due to which major companies like Coinbase and Kraken even thought about leaving the American market. Clear regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies have long been in place in the European Union, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.
In the United States, no final decision has been made on what they are, and bills on industry regulation have been pending in Congress and the House of Representatives for years. It is on this that Trump builds his rhetoric, presenting the current situation to the public as critical.
By appealing to cryptocurrencies, Republican Trump attracts young people, liberal-minded entrepreneurs, and immigrants from other countries to his side. How successful this strategy is will become clear when the states of California and New York, where the majority is traditionally on the side of the Democrats, vote.
If we summarize Trump's election statements, they boil down to a promise to ensure US global leadership in all areas, and cryptocurrencies will be no exception. Regulatory uncertainty reduces investment attractiveness and contributes to the outflow of companies to jurisdictions where the rules are more understandable.
If Trump wins, his administration should be expected to take actions aimed at reducing legal uncertainty in this matter. At the very least, it can be assumed that Congress will begin to actively consider bills already in Parliament.
When developing regulation, attention will mainly be paid to the availability of cryptocurrencies and control over their turnover by the American authorities. To a much lesser extent, it concerns the security of crypto investors, as they lead to excessive regulation and additional burden on business.
It can also be assumed that the presidential administration will strengthen control over all issuers of stablecoins linked to the dollar. The hegemony of the American currency is one of the most important issues for Trump. Therefore, on the one hand, the authorities will not interfere with the issue of such tokens, and on the other hand, they will do everything to ensure full control over them. At least over the largest ones.