Over the past few months, former US President Donald Trump has made several promises to crypto players in an effort to persuade them to support his presidential bid. However, crypto is not among the top 20 official goals the Republican Party aims to achieve once Trump is elected.
Still, the former US president insists that artificial intelligence and crypto are his areas of focus, claiming that they will facilitate innovations necessary for building a “great American economy.”
In a recent statement, Trump said his party will end Joe Biden’s unlawful crackdown on crypto and oppose any attempts to create a Central Bank Digital Currency. Moreover, the former president promised to enable Americans to make financial transactions without government Surveillance.
While Trump has expressed the willingness to work with crypto companies and formulate a comprehensive legal framework, his main rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, hasn’t opined on digital assets, causing many to believe that crypto crackdowns will continue if Democrats win the presidential election.
Here is a full list of Donald Trump’s crypto promises.
Ending Crypto Crackdown
In the last 12 months, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought enforcement actions against crypto companies, including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken, among others. Trump says such incidents suggest Biden and SEC Chair Gary Gensler are against blockchain technology.
During this year’s Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, the former president vowed to remove Gensler if elected to put an end to unnecessary crackdowns. His statement was welcomed overwhelmingly by attendees. However, it might be difficult to fire Gensler since a US President doesn’t have such authority.
Formulating Clear Regulations
The SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have disagreed several times on who should oversee crypto. For this reason, Trump says he will establish a presidential advisory committee if reelected to help clarify the regulatory jurisdiction for the two regulators.
Moreover, the former president has promised to ensure that Republican lawmakers pass a crypto regulation bill that benefits the blockchain industry. He claims the bill will become law within 100 days after assuming power.
Building a Bitcoin Treasury
During the Bitcoin Conference, Trump announced his plans to make America a crypto capital by establishing a Bitcoin treasury. He promised to hold seized BTC and buy more coins every month. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis raised a similar proposal in the Parliament earlier this year. She proposed that the US government create a Bitcoin reserve of at least 1 million coins.
Facilitating Bitcoin Mining
While speaking to executives from top crypto mining firms in June, Trump said he planned to provide a conducive environment for crypto mining to ensure all remaining BTC is mined in the United States. But Bitcoin mining is a decentralized process, meaning anyone across the globe can mine BTC. Therefore, it will be almost impossible for Bitcoin mining to take place only in America.
Nonetheless, Trump insists that he wants Bitcoin to be mined in the US so that the country can stay ahead of Russia and China.
Promoting Self-Custody
In 2022, crypto hater and Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, which required owners of self-custody wallets, including validators and miners, to register those wallets with relevant authorities to prevent illegal financial activities.
This bill received massive opposition from Republican lawmakers, who later tabled the Keep Your Coin Act to allow self-custody wallet owners to store their digital assets without revealing their identity.
Trump now says he’s committed to defending the right to self-custody.
Rejecting CBDC Plans
Trump has openly opposed plans to have an American CBDC, warning against the dangers it poses. Despite Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying that the American central bank isn’t planning to introduce a CBDC, the former president has vowed to shield US citizens against it.
At the Bitcoin Conference, Trump promised to never allow a CBDC in the United States while serving as the president, arguing that the technology posed risks to financial privacy.
