Despite once calling Bitcoin a “scam” that would weaken the dollar, former President Donald Trump is now calling himself a “pro-crypto” presidential candidate in the race against Vice President Kamala Harris. They accept virtual currency as much as they claim.
Check it out: 13 cheap cryptocurrencies with the biggest upside potential for you
Read next: 9 things you must do to grow your wealth in 2024
The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump has made a major pivot to cryptocurrencies over the past few months as a way to ramp up his presidential campaign and court wealthy and influential friends in the industry. .
That includes starting a new cryptocurrency business with his family, visiting a Bitcoin-themed bar in New York, and building a “national Bitcoin stockpile” if he wins a second term in the White House this November. It included a commitment to create a
Here are six ways President Trump is currently leveraging digital currencies.
Current trends: Baby boomers hold half of America's wealth —So why are thousands of people without a home?
Launch of World Liberty Financial
According to a report from CNBC, President Trump last month announced the launch of World Liberty Financial, a crypto banking platform aimed at encouraging people to lend, borrow, and invest in cryptocurrencies. The platform includes an accompanying token called WLFI. One-fifth of the tokens will be donated to the founding team. An additional 17% will be set aside for user perks, and the remaining 63% will be available for purchase by the public.
According to CNBC, this token will be a Reg D token offering. This follows the provisions of Regulation D of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which allows companies to raise capital without first registering securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) if certain conditions are met. means.
More information: I'm an entrepreneur: Here's how the Harris administration can help me succeed
Support for domestic virtual currency mining
In a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee over the summer, President Trump told attendees, “You guys are going to be very happy with me.”
He said, “If cryptocurrencies are going to define the future, that’s what I want to do.” [it] Must be mined, cast, and manufactured in the United States. …If Bitcoin goes to the moon…I want America to be the country that leads the way. ”
The former president announced plans to create a Presidential Advisory Council on Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin if he wins the election, vowing to make America a “Bitcoin mining powerhouse.” He also said he would create a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” filled with an estimated $5 billion worth of bitcoins controlled by the U.S. government.
Cryptocurrency as a campaign theme
President Trump's embrace of digital currency has become a central theme of his 2024 presidential campaign, and it's not something industry leaders aren't paying attention to. As The Wall Street Journal pointed out, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, co-founders of venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz, said on a podcast in July that President Trump personally said, said they would support President Trump after “rewriting” their platform to what they called “flat.” -Out, full support of the entire space. ”
SEC changes
According to CBS News, President Trump received a standing ovation at the Nashville meeting when he promised to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. Gensler is an unpopular figure among crypto enthusiasts because of his position that digital assets should be subject to the same rules and standards as stock and bond trading.
Alex Gladstein, co-author of The Little Bitcoin Book: Why Bitcoin Matters for Your Freedom, Finances, and Future, told CBS News: I think he doesn't like it when people who print money for free don't pay taxes or are unregulated. ”
Purchases using cryptocurrencies
Another high-profile recent move by President Trump was a campaign stop at Pubky, a Bitcoin bar in New York. During his visit, he purchased about a dozen hamburgers and handed them out to attendees, becoming the first former US president to use cryptocurrencies in transactions, Cointelegraph reported.
Promise to free Ross Ulbricht
During the meeting in Nashville, President Trump also spoke to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted of drug trafficking, involvement in a continuing criminal enterprise, computer hacking conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy, among other charges. He promised to commute his life sentence.
According to CBS News, Silk Road was the first major market to use a Bitcoin-based payment system, and Ulbricht's conviction made him a “crypto martyr” to his supporters. However, the U.S. Department of Justice has determined that the market “distributes hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other illegal goods and services to more than 100,000 buyers by thousands of drug dealers and other illegal operators. “It is being used to launder hundreds of millions of dollars worth of merchandise.” The dollars earned from these illegal transactions. ”
Editor's Note on Election Coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to objectively cover all aspects of the economy and provide balanced reporting on politically focused financial stories. More information on this topic can be found at GOBankingRates.com.
Details of GOBankingRates
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Trump's Crypto Alliance — 6 Ways the Former President is Leveraging Digital Currency
