Bitcoin rose 7% after the Bitcoin 2024 conference opened in Nashville on Thursday and culminated with Donald Trump’s pro-crypto keynote speech. In his speech, the former president laid out plans to make the United States “the crypto capital of the earth and the world’s Bitcoin superpower.” Bitcoin prices were hovering just below $70,000 as of Monday morning ET, the highest price since June 6, according to CoinGecko.
Trump spoke for 30 minutes to about 20,000 cryptocurrency enthusiasts at the industry’s largest U.S. conference, where he also vowed to end hostilities under President Joe Biden and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler. regulatory environment. Instead, he told the crowd that cryptocurrency policy will be “written by people who love your industry.” He went on to compare cryptocurrencies to the steel industry a century ago.
“Never sell your #bitcoin“
——President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/olYEsaCBFy— The Bitcoin Conference (@TheBitcoinConf) July 27, 2024
Trump’s growing embrace of cryptocurrencies, along with his improving election prospects according to prediction markets (currently predicting a 60% chance of winning), have been sending cryptocurrency prices soaring. Ethereum and Solana tokens have also seen gains over the past week, with the former up 8% and the latter up 7%, according to CoinGecko. While Trump has historically been deeply skeptical of Bitcoin, his success in reinventing himself as the cryptocurrency candidate was reflected in Nashville: Many attendees wore red “Make Bitcoin Great Again” hats and “Make Money Great Again” orange hats.
In his speech, Trump promised to establish a Bitcoin “strategic reserve” if re-elected, which means that in addition to purchasing 1 million Bitcoins (about $70 billion at current market value) within five years, the U.S. government will also retain its All tokens currently owned.
“The establishment of a #Bitcoin reserve in the United States will be one of the most important events in the economic history of the United States. In fact, this is more than an economic event; it is the declaration of a new era of prosperity and freedom.
However, Trump’s bullish comments were not the only reason for Bitcoin’s rise last week. After Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21, optimism grew that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, the vice president, might take a friendlier stance on cryptocurrencies than her predecessor .
While Harris has yet to make any public comments about cryptocurrencies, some in the industry are optimistically explaining the void and her Silicon Valley roots — she grew up in California and served as San Francisco’s district attorney. There are signs Harris may be looking to win back crypto voters: On Saturday, Financial Times Reports say members of her team have contacted major cryptocurrency companies in an attempt to “reset” relationships. These include exchange Coinbase, stablecoin issuer Circle and blockchain payments group Ripple Labs.
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