Who better to lead the Orange Party than Donald Trump?
I saw Donald live and in person on Saturday in Nashville for the Bitcoin Conference 2024, where he changed everything for crypto and digital assets.
In Trump's first BTC speech in Nashville on Saturday, he said he would:
- Fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler
- Create Strategic Stockpile (aka never sell current US bitcoin stack)
- Create a Crypto task force, ending antagonistic regulations within 100 days
- Stop Operation Choke Point
- Not gonna tax your gains 50% like the Biden-Harris administration
- He said he'd free Ross Ulbricht on day one, the creator of Silk Road
Imagine traveling back to 2010 and telling Hal Finney, the computer scientist who received the first BTC from Satoshi Nakamoto, that in 14 years, Donald Trump (who, oh, by the way, could be the first president to serve nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland) would be creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The mainstream media is missing a lot about this event because they're reporting hearsay. I was actually there, so here's the good, bad, and ugly of Trump's speech.
The Good: Not just BTC but the whole economy will improve With Donald Trump
When we interviewed Brandon Green, head of staff at BTC Nashville, he said this would be the next Woodstock. While there was no Jimi Hendrix or LSD-tripping hippies (I'm sure I'm wrong), it did make history with Donald Trump.
Trump walked out to "God Bless the USA"—albeit an hour late—but made a funny joke of it. He said the Secret Service told him they needed more time to case the room, and he said, "Take all the time you need."
His ear, nearly shot off by the assassin in Butler, PA, was fully repaired, and he made it clear early on: he's the innovation president.
"The reason I'm into Bitcoin is two words: America First," Trump said. "We want places like China to be successful with Bitcoin, but we want America to be the most successful."
Trump legitimized this point, in a bit of a pandering way, by telling the crowd to say "THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP," or their portfolio will go to ZERO.
Trump, like a comedian hitting the crowd's sweet spots, played up to what worked and ditched what didn't. This got the biggest roar:
"Never sell your Bitcoin." - Donald Trump
So, is Trump the best crypto candidate?
No. I saw Robert Kennedy Jr. speak the day before Trump, whose audience was smaller but not too far off in support. It is clear he understands crypto more and promises to buy $4 million BTC if elected president.
"The United States holds 19% of global gold reserves, I don't see why we can't hold the same," Kennedy said. "Bitcoin is the perfect currency."
That said, Donald Trump has the best chance of winning the presidency in November. Moreover, should he win, Republicans may have total control of the government, and people like Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis will push their BTC agenda into reality. Also, don't forget that JD Vance, Trump's vice president, also holds Bitcoin.
The Bad: Will Trump keep any of his promises if elected?
I don't subscribe to this way of thought, but some notable Bitcoiners believe Trump is pandering to the bitcoiner crowd as a way to get votes.
That once he's in office he'll never mention Bitcoin again.
Some notable blunders in his speech can support this theory. The first thing that comes to mind is when he asks the crowd, "Does anyone here know what a stablecoin is?" and if anyone knows what a stablecoin is, "to put their hands up."
It felt like a grandpa, but like a cool grandpa, trying to understand all this talk about the bitcoins and TikTok and AI.
The Donald Trump speech also became a "buy the rumor, sell the news" event for crypto.
But after the dust had settled, it started to pump again, with BTC briefly touching $70k once the news sunk in.
Consider this: Donald Trump may not stand shoulder to shoulder with RFK Jr. or ex-candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on crypto vision, but it's a step in the right direction.
More than likely the future president just endorsed Bitcoin and crypto. Let that sink in.
The Ugly of Donald Trump and one more bit of good
Is Bitcoin becoming a Trump coin? At this year's conference, we saw "Make Bitcoin Great Again Hats," tons of MAGA support and little to no Democrat support.
You could tell some people only showed up for Trump reeking of MAGA, like they own Trump body pillows and punch the air when they hear about Kamala.
This is to say Bitcoin is becoming a Trump coin in some ways and oscillates based on whether one party wins or not. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not.
Regardless, don't get it twisted; what we saw on Saturday is historic. It's the anti-1971 gold standard removal event of the 21st century.
This is the first president to endorse Bitcoin, and it will snowball more as crypto voters participate.
Heck, it's already making the Kamala Harris camp change their tune about Bitcoin, asking for a "reset" with crypto companies.
Trump's actions, particularly in establishing a BTC strategic reserve, will resonate strongly even with those new to the industry and is CRAZY bullish. Even if he backs out of other promises, I have a hard time believing he could back out of this one without serious backlash. This is a new day for Bitcoin, and as much as altcoins are anathema to Bitcoiners, it is a new day for crypto as well.
Things are about to get crazy.
