Republican candidate and former president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced plans to make his administration more favorable for digital currencies if elected. Amongst other promises made at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on Saturday, the 45th president of America promised to use the crypto asset Bitcoin as a strategic reserve.
Trump stated that he would not sell the 210,000 bitcoins held by the US government; instead, he would use them to full effect in his plans to use the asset to hedge against the dollar’s devaluation.
“Never sell your bitcoin,” Trump said, adding that ‘it will be the policy of my administration to keep 100 percent of all the bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires into the future. This would serve at effect as the core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile.”
US, the Crypto Capital of the World
The former president further outlined his plans to make the US the “crypto capital of the world.” He promised to create a Bitcoin and crypto advisory council and a conducive regulatory environment for digital assets to thrive.
The crypto community has faced severe crackdowns from the current Securities and Exchange Commission’s boss, Gary Gensler, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, a ploy Trump promised to curtail if elected.
Trump promised to fire Gensler on his first day in office and ensure that crypto miners have the proper support to mine “made-in-America bitcoins.” He also said he would scrap plans to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
“The moment I am sworn in, the persecution stops, and the weaponization against your industry ends,” Trump stated.
Lummis Presents Bitcoin Bill
Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming continued from where Trump’s arousing plans left off, showing the crowd a Bitcoin strategic reserve bill she had drafted.
The senator stated that a part of the reserve bill is a purchase program that would see the US purchase 1 million BTC in five years, about 5% of the asset’s total supply.
“This Bitcoin reserve that we are going to create will start with the 210,000 bitcoin that President Trump just mentioned and pull it into a reserve, stored in geographically diverse vaults, and that’s only the beginning. We have the money now, but we will no longer be holding it in US dollars and assets that are designed to debase at least 2% per year, we’ll be holding it in an asset that will grow in value,” Lummis said.
Analysts have tipped Bitcoin to trade above $150,000 if Trump wins the November election. At press time, the asset traded at $67,941, down less than 1% in the past 24 hours.
Mishael Nwani | November 22, 2024
Jonathan Agozie | November 22, 2024
