Donald Trump Might Not Be The Best Champion For Crypto

Donald Trump did not like crypto during his first term in office, and he would not be obligated to execute and fulfill his promises for a second term.

The crypto sector is excited by Trump’s U-turn on crypto. The former president is all for crypto despite his 2019 comment that crypto is ‘not money,’ based on ‘thin air,’ and ‘can facilitate unlawful behavior, including the drug trade.’ In 2021, he said that Bitcoin appeared like a scam and did not like it since it is another currency competing against the dollar.

His impressive July 27 appearance at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville saw him play to the crowd, promising lots of things from the instant removal of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler to the careful appointment of a Bitcoin and crypto advisory council and strategic Bitcoin reserves at the Federal Reserve. Trump promises viable crypto regulations to attract this bloc of low-hanging voters.

Is Trump Courting The Crypto Sector For Campaign Funding?

This is considered as rallying cry for a sector that has experienced extensive pressure from US lawmakers and regulators recently. Nonetheless, Trump’s conviction on crypto might be the same as his previous stance on electric vehicles: flexible and fully pushed by donations.

Some users might refute all this by pointing to Trump’s significant and dominant interest in crypto can never be denied. It was not long after a financial filing showed his non-fungible token (NFT) collection had profited nearly $500,000 in Ether (ETH) that he began changing his opinion on this asset class.

Furthermore, Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, also owns a small chunk of his $5 million fortune in Bitcoin, valued between $100,000 and $250,000.

Dipping toes into the sector appears to be a strong motivator. Nevertheless, Trump and Vance’s cumulative crypto investments are small compared to that of BlackRock, led by billionaire and registered Democrat Larry Fink, who now controls the world’s biggest spot BTC ETF, which has surged to an estimated value of $22 billion since its approval in January.

Also, JPMorgan, whose CEO Jamie Dimon is another Democrat, has softened his anti-Bitcoin rhetoric as the Bank’s BTC holdings continue to increase rapidly.

History has shown that what is deemed good for JPMorgan and BlackRock is normally great for the Democrats. Whether Trump criticizes Gary Gensler or not, it was under his and President Joe Biden’s tenures that Bitcoin ETFs were approved, and not under Trump’s watch. Interestingly, Trump had many opportunities to approve these ETFs during his term.

On the contrary, Trump’s administration oversaw the proposal of a rule from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that would need crypto companies to dox DeFi users.

Who Will Come Up With The Best Regulations And Policies For Crypto?

Donald Trump loves talking, but action always speaks louder than words. Up to date, Trump’s actions as a businessman and political leader have been detrimental to Bitcoin’s mission, an asset launched in 2009 in protest at the increased money printing of which he was a top fan.

As he commented in a 2016 CNN interview, his answer to spiraling government debt is more printing. He explained that the United States never has to default since it prints the money used in most global business transactions. He even turned the printer on well before Covid-19 hit excessively hard, and later claimed credit for rallying stocks.

In general, Trump oversaw the third biggest spike in government debt in a single term administration – surpassed only by Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush. Both these presidents were financing wars. If Trump’s comments about Jerome Powell’s conservative interest rate policies are anything to go by, we will experience the same if he is elected in November 2024.

None of all this is to insist that Biden is a fan of crypto and digital assets – nor are Senator Elizabeth Warren or Gary Gensler. Nonetheless, Vice President Kamala Harris’ position on crypto is not yet clear. What is clear is that she is pro-Silicon Valley.

Repeatedly visits the offices of Meta and Google, and has insisted on the advantages of finding a balance between innovation and regulation, and she already has a massive endorsement from Sheryl Sandberg.

It is known that Harris’s campaign aims to empower the young middle class, a demographic that dominates crypto. Hence, tapping into crypto’s ability to generate significant wealth for this critical voter bloc would make some sense. Despite her non-appearance at the conference in Nashville, Harris appears eager to learn more, with billionaire crypto supporter Mark Cuban confirming that her camp had been in touch.

Anthony Scarumucci, former White House communications chief, also alleged that Harris told him she was “open-minded about crypto.” He also thinks she will fire Gensler and sideline Warren if she becomes president – although everything is conjecture.

Harris did not speak at the conference. Apart from the comments from organizer David Bailey – who hit Harris hard on social media – 48 hours is not enough time to prepare security for an appearance by the vice president in a state where anybody above 18 can carry a handgun a few weeks after the head of the Secret Service resigned over an assassination attempt on Trump. Of course, Harris never attended the conference.

Can Trump Keep His Word?

In general, despite Donald Trump’s bombastic appearance and performance in Nashville, anyone expecting him to save crypto needs to keenly review the receipts and remember he is not obligated to keep any promise to Michael Saylor, the Winklevoss twins, or Cathie Wood.

As is the case that Trump might not get a pro-EV agenda through fossil fuel-loving Republican senators, he might not pass anything that will threaten the banks or even the supremacy of the US dollar through them. Additionally, he might find it quite tricky to support a sector where very many “hard-working Americans” lost billions of dollars via Celsius and FTX.

Instead, if the crypto space helps deliver him back to the White House, Trump might certainly refocus on his populist agenda of lowering taxes and maybe eventually getting that wall built.

Instead of engaging in fiery rhetoric, what the crypto sector needs now is meaningful engagement on critical regulatory issues from the Democrats and Republicans. The crypto space requires clear, defined guidelines that are not as limiting as securities regulations but that fully protect retail traders and investors.

The great way to achieve all this is to have all involved parties engaged to come up with the best and most ideal environment to thrive. Some forward-thinking is needed to create innovative policies from experienced experts and lawmakers across the board.