Bitcoin is up 7% following the start of the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, which began on Thursday and culminated with a pro-crypto keynote speech by Donald Trump. In his address, the former president laid out plans to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world.” As of Monday morning ET, Bitcoin is hovering at just under $70,000, its highest price since June 6, according to CoinGecko data.
In a 30-minute address to 20,000 or so crypto enthusiasts at the industry’s largest U.S. conference, Trump also swore to end the hostile regulatory environment under President Joe Biden and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler. Instead, he told the crowd, crypto policies would be “written by people who love your industry.” He continued by likening crypto to the steel industry a century ago.
“Never sell your #Bitcoin”
— The Bitcoin Conference (@TheBitcoinConf) July 27, 2024
– President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/olYEsaCBFy
Trump’s growing embrace of crypto, and his improved electoral outlook according to prediction markets—which currently forecast a 60% chance of victory—have been sending crypto prices soaring. Over the past week, Ethereum and Solana tokens have also climbed, with the former up 8% and the latter 7%, according to CoinGecko data. While Trump has historically been a deep skeptic of Bitcoin, his success at rebranding himself as a crypto candidate was reflected in Nashville: Many conference attendees wore red “Make Bitcoin Great Again” hats, and orange “Make Money Great Again” hats.
During his address, Trump pledged to create a Bitcoin “strategic reserve” if reelected, meaning the U.S. government would hold onto all tokens it currently owns, in addition to buying 1 million Bitcoin over five years, worth about $70 billion at current market prices.
“The US establishing a #Bitcoin Reserve would rank among the most important events in US economic history. In fact, this is more than an economic event; it is a declaration of a new era of prosperity and freedom,” Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, a Bitcoin payments platform, wrote on X following the announcement.
However, Trump’s bullish rhetoric isn’t the only reason why Bitcoin is pumping over the last week. Following Biden bowing out of the presidential race on July 21, optimism has been growing that Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumed Democratic nominee, could take a friendlier stance on crypto than her predecessor.
While Harris is yet to make any public comments about crypto, some in the industry are interpreting this blank slate and her Silicon Valley roots—she was raised in California and served as the district attorney of San Francisco—optimistically. One sign Harris may be seeking to win back crypto voters: On Saturday, the Financial Times reported that members of her team had reached out to major crypto firms in an attempt to “reset” relations. These include exchange Coinbase, stablecoin issuer Circle, and blockchain payments group Ripple Labs.
