Author | Danny Nelson
Compilation|Maodi
At a dinner on Wednesday, Donald Trump appealed to a group of voters that Joe Biden completely ignored. But the presidential candidate isn’t really well-versed in cryptocurrency policy.
During his first run in the White House, Donald Trump was not a fan of cryptocurrencies; he once tweeted that they “came out of thin air.” He later sold millions of dollars worth of NFTs. This week, he recast himself as the cryptocurrency space’s go-to candidate.
“If you’re for crypto, you’re voting for Trump because they want to end it,” he said at a Wednesday night party at Mar-a-Lago, referring to the Democratic Party and President Joe Biden. He also pledged to ensure his campaign would accept cryptocurrency donations.
The apparent shift by the 77-year-old candidate came as no surprise to his roughly 200 supporters, many of whom had purchased $10,000 Trump Trading Card NFTs to attend the bizarre, sweltering outdoor reception at the former president’s Florida palace. A CoinDesk reporter also attended the event as a chaperone.
For nearly an hour, Trump fielded questions from a crowd of sweaty suit-wearers. Only a few of the questions focused on cryptocurrency, the nominal theme of the event but in reality a very niche subject.
But this is enough to make a few things clear:
1. Trump is not an expert on cryptocurrency.
2. Trump is an expert at selling cryptocurrency.
3. The first two points are not important because Trump has already declared himself a defender of cryptocurrency.
One exchange highlighted points 1 and 3 (we’ll get to point 2 later). When asked about his views on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and “government blockchains,” both of which are often shunned by cryptocurrency supporters, Trump responded, “I think there’s a place for all of that.” He continued, “We have some incredible things going on, I mean, looking back at cryptocurrency a few years ago, people said it wasn’t going to work, and now it’s in record numbers. I guess you could say it’s a form of money, and I think I support it, and I support it more and more.”
For the (likely small) single-issue voters in the industry, the substance of Trump’s support for cryptocurrencies may not matter as much as his positive comments about them. Trump appears to be the first major party presidential candidate to embrace cryptocurrencies.
Blast Biden
On the other side of the campaign trail, we’re seeing an openly hostile presidential administration. Joe Biden’s SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is launching legal actions against multiple aspects of the cryptocurrency industry. And hours before his opponent’s golf resort dinner, earlier on Wednesday, the president pledged to block an attempt by the House of Representatives to repeal a cryptocurrency accounting rule that political opponents say has stifled the industry’s growth.
“Biden doesn’t even know what that is. If you ask Biden, ‘Sir, are you for or against cryptocurrency?’ He’ll say, ‘What is that? Let me off the stage.’ He has no idea,” Trump said. Regardless of whether this plausible assumption is true, Trump went on to attack Gensler, an official who is well-versed in cryptocurrency.
“I will say this: I’m fine with it, I want to make sure it’s good and solid and everything else, but I’m fine with it,” Trump said of cryptocurrencies. He later said, “If we’re going to have what we have now, then we’re going to have to accept a lot of things that not everyone likes.”
Hours before Trump’s impromptu Q&A, Biden’s campaign blasted “people who were duped into spending up to $10,000 to buy simple digital images of him” in an email to supporters. The email slammed Trump for hosting a flashy NFT dinner instead of a campaign event during his midweek recess.
But Trump was indeed campaigning on Wednesday night. He was courting the votes of the unusually vociferous cryptocurrency community that Biden had thoroughly ignored. Granted, only a few hundred people heard him in person. Trump’s video endorsing cryptocurrency went viral on social media and sparked a flood of media coverage of cryptocurrency’s self-appointed political champions.
“There are 50 million crypto holders in the United States. That’s a lot of voters,” Ryan Selkis, CEO of crypto data platform Messari, claimed in a packed Mar-a-Lago ballroom, where VIPs (those who bought $10,000 NFTs) mingled with dinner attendees (those who paid $4,700). Trump unexpectedly called Selkis to the stage.
The sound bites from Wednesday’s NFT extravaganza are likely to further polarize cryptocurrency, tethering it to the “us versus them” battle that has plagued American politics. Bitcoin’s libertarian roots hardly resonate today; the cryptocurrency has supporters in both parties.
The most influential voice in Republican politics ignored the bipartisan reality of cryptocurrency, asserting that Democrats want to kill it. “Democrats are very against it,” Trump said, hours after 21 of the 213 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to repeal SEC accounting rules.
Trump has positioned himself as the industry’s only hope. His knowledge of industry issues is sporadic. When asked how he would change hostile U.S. policies that expel cryptocurrency businesses from the country, he said: “We’re going to stop it because I don’t want that, I don’t want that. I hope that if we’re going to embrace it, then we have to let them stay here.”
“We’re making NFTs hot again”
There is one area of cryptocurrency where Trump has shown more or less professionalism: his NFTs. Three series of Trump NFTs — digital trading cards depicting the superhero Donald in various states of patriotism — have generated millions of dollars in sales. Wednesday’s dinner celebrated the big spenders who bought the third series of his “Mugshot Edition.”
“We did it when NFTs weren’t hot, we made NFTs hot again,” Trump said of his trading cards, adding that some NFT buyers have made tens of thousands of dollars on the resale market.
Asked by an attendee if he would sell a fourth series of NFTs, the veteran businessman hesitated. “I believe in supply and demand. As you know, 1 did well, 2 did well, 3 did well. Maybe at some point, that will reverse.”
He polled the audience: How many Mugshot owners wanted a fourth series of NFT collections? Most raised their hands. Trump sounded confused: “Wouldn’t that probably keep the prices of the things you’ve already bought lower, based on supply and demand?” He tested their resolve. “Who wouldn’t want to see a fourth series for that reason?” Only a few hands went up.
“Well, there are a couple of economists,” Trump said to laughter from the crowd.
