Author: JK, Odaily Planet Daily
The 2024 Nashville Bitcoin Conference welcomed the most important speaker, former President Donald Trump. Trump gave an exciting speech on the spot, expounding on his vision for the future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. He spoke for a full 40 minutes, reviewed his achievements during his term, and proposed a series of policies and plans to promote the United States as a global cryptocurrency center, including establishing a government Bitcoin reserve and appointing a cryptocurrency committee.
The following is the full text of Trump’s 10,000-word speech at the Nashville Bitcoin Conference 2024, compiled by Odaily Planet Daily:
Our country is so fortunate to have the extraordinary talent, energy and genius of the people represented here. It's truly remarkable. Genius.
Not all of them, but many of you here. That spirit is what built America, and that spirit will help us Make America Great Again. I stand before you today with so much respect and admiration for what the Bitcoin community has accomplished.
It's incredible. It really is. I often say to my sons, it's incredible because they know so much about Bitcoin. They know so much more about it than people who are a little older. I say, it's like the steel industry 100 years ago. It is. I feel like you're just in the beginning stages of this. I can see it happening. In just 15 years, Bitcoin went from an idea posted anonymously on an internet message board to the ninth most valuable asset in the world. Can you believe that? Right? This is a big deal. Think about it, it's already bigger than Exxon Mobil. Soon it will be bigger than the entire silver market. There's a target, yes. One day, it may surpass gold. The way it's going, it's entirely possible. There's never been anything like it in the world. I don't think you've ever seen anything like it. Most people don't even know what it is. You know.
Is it right?
So what happens when they figure it out? That's going to be really interesting. Bitcoin is not just a miracle of technology, you know, it's a miracle of collaboration and human achievement. A lot of relationships are built along the way, and there's a great camaraderie that's formed in the roundtables with a lot of the leaders. It's really interesting. Obviously, there's competition, but there's also a lot of relationships and friendships between people. I've noticed that. I don't usually see that, usually I see the opposite.
They want to take each other out. These people have great sense. Very smart. Congratulations on all you have accomplished. This room is amazing. These are high IQ people. I am competing against a low IQ person. I am not kidding. She is a low IQ person.
The reason I’m here to address the Bitcoin community today can be summed up in one simple sentence: America First. Because if we don’t, China will do it, and other countries will do it. Let’s do it, and let’s do it well.
My vision is an America that leads the future. We have the best economy, the highest standard of living. China is trying to dominate, and they've made so much progress. And we want them to succeed, we want China to succeed. But we have to be the most successful. It's important that we lead and set the standard.
what happens?
I want America to be a leader in technology, science, manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. My uncle, Dr. John Trump, was a professor at MIT. He fits in really well with all of you, and that's why I mentioned him. He was one of the longest-tenured professors in the history of MIT. We have a very smart family, and he earned three different degrees. They invited him to stay as a professor, and he stayed for 41 years. When I was in the White House, the president of MIT gave me a book about my uncle. He was a legend in academia and at MIT. So I know a lot about what you do, and I have a lot of respect for people with high IQs like you.
America's destiny is to lead our adversaries and never give our industries away. Some of you work on artificial intelligence, but you also need something called electricity. Artificial intelligence requires a lot of electricity. China can do it more easily because we have environmental impact reports to do, but we are going to do something that no one thought was possible. You need a lot of electricity, twice the electricity we have now in the United States, to dominate. We will do it. We will use fossil fuels and nuclear power to generate electricity in an environmentally friendly way. We will create so much electricity that you will say, "Please, President, we don't need more electricity."
In the Midwest, they just opened charging stations for electric cars. You know, I love Elon. He's great. He supports me, and that's a great support. But not everyone has to have an electric car. I told him that. So we're going to remove that mandate. Some people like gas cars, some people like hybrids, some people like electric cars. They're all good. I think what Elon is doing is great, and he understands it. If he didn't understand it, he probably wouldn't have supported me.
But they built these charging stations in the Midwest. There are eight of them, and it cost $9 billion to build them. At that rate, it would cost about $12 trillion to build charging stations across the country. If these charging stations stop working, the state will have to file for bankruptcy protection. We have to use our brains, and we have to be the party of common sense.
All right?
We have to have common sense. But we do need to produce a lot of electricity to support artificial intelligence and everything you're doing. We're going to produce it. We're going to be able to compete with China and other countries. So we're going to produce it.
This afternoon, I will detail my plan to ensure that America becomes the global cryptocurrency capital and the world's Bitcoin superpower. We will get there. If cryptocurrency is going to define the future, I want it mined, minted, and produced in America, not somewhere else. If Bitcoin is going to "moonshot" as we say, I want America to lead the way. It will happen. You will be very pleased with me, and you will be very happy.
That's why I'm proud to be the first major party candidate in American history to accept donations in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. And I have to tell you, they've given a lot, and I'm grateful. Since we announced this on May 21, we've raised $25 billion, a large portion of which is in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and other forms of assets.
But as you know, our excitement about the future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is very different from the approach of our opponents. They're taking the old-fashioned way. We're taking the middle path. We're very different from everybody else when it comes to campaigning. We understand it, and they don't. They're standing in your way.
I've made your life a lot easier because the SEC has been very tough on you. Now they see you support me, and all of a sudden, those who were once investigated are no longer facing the same scrutiny. So please say, "Thank you, President Trump."
They’re doing this because I heard some of your great geniuses talk to me about this topic. I heard Vivek say there are 175 million people involved in this world of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin in some form. 175 million. When they heard that number, they said, “At least be nice to them before the election.”
So I've taken a lot of stress off a lot of people. A lot of people who are happy today, weren't that happy three months ago.
Over the past three and a half years, the current administration has waged an unprecedented war against cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. For those of you who are not in the industry, they target your banks and cut off your financial services. Have you seen this? Yes, they have. They block ordinary Americans from transferring money to your exchanges. They slander us as criminals. I went through it, too, because I said the election was rigged. They said, "He should spend the rest of his life in jail for this." Of course, they say that about us, too, which is really...
By the way, we're in a very good election situation. You know, we recently lost a candidate, Joe Biden. You might have thought we lost this good guy, but he was actually a terrible person, to be honest. So don't feel bad.
We have a worse candidate. But I made an analogy last night. Think about this: I spoke in front of a very powerful, very influential, very religious group - Christians, evangelicals. And then today, I spoke in front of Bitcoin enthusiasts. Now I'm going to Minnesota to give a rally. You think I have a great life, don't you? But remember, I cover a lot of ground. I go from religion to Bitcoin to rallies. I don't mix it up like some other people do, who say "May God bless all those who are involved in the Bitcoin world." But actually, we mean it because you need blessings to do some really amazing things.
We had a great time last night with Christians, mostly Christians, a Christian group. It was great. And then we have a very big rally in Minnesota. Hasn't won here once since 1972, when it was Richard Nixon. Can you believe that? I think we're ahead in Minnesota, but there's been some shady behavior there. But I think we're doing very well. So we're going to leave here and go have a big rally there. It's an honor to be with you all.
Sadly, when we see the attacks on cryptocurrencies, it’s part of a larger effort by the same left-wing fascists to weaponize the government against anything that threatens their power. They did that to me. Did you see that? I just won a big case in Florida. Thank you so much. It’s a documents case. I have the Presidential Records Act on my side. Biden has it too, by the way, but he’s guilty of a crime and we’re not prosecuting him because he’s incompetent. I won that case the old-fashioned way. That’s called winning. I want to win this case the same way Trump won cases because they called him incompetent. Think about it. So they called him incompetent, but he’s incompetent to judge, but he’s not incompetent to govern. How can that work?
He doesn’t do it anymore now because he didn’t do well in the debate. Did anybody watch the debate? Not a lot of people. One guy said to me, “You did badly in the debate.” I asked why. He said, because he couldn’t get on with it anyway. He said, “I see.” That’s exactly what happened. We actually had a great debate, a superb debate actually.
Hey, look, you gotta open your eyes. You gotta look at what's going on. We have a country to run. The thing is, Kamala is worse. She's a far-left lunatic who's advocating for defunding the police and all kinds of things. So far, she's still on her honeymoon. But as people get to know her - by the way, she's against cryptocurrency. She's very much against it. So I just want you to know that you have to get out and vote. Not surprisingly, these same totalitarians are against cryptocurrency and are trying to kill it. That's what they want to do and that's what they're saying. Now, you have the SEC. You know what they're doing: killing Bitcoin.
The reason couldn't be clearer: Bitcoin represents freedom, sovereignty, and independence from government coercion and control. The Biden-Harris administration's clampdown on cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin is wrong and very bad for our country. It is un-American. As you know, six days ago, we officially defeated the worst president in American history. I believe he is the worst president in American history.
Think about it. Millions of people are pouring into our country. They come from prisons, mental hospitals, insane asylums, and even terrorists. We are now the country with the most terrorists coming into the world, the very Israelis you just heard about. They are coming in and nobody is checking them. Nobody knows what's going on. We have no idea what's going on. They have lost control of our country, and only bad things are going to happen.
It’s not going to happen. We’re not going to let that happen. We’re beating them, and beating them hard. We have to make sure we do it for our country. You can’t just be a fighter and then let your guy lose. If he’s down by 15, 16, 17 points, they’re going to say you can’t win, Joe, you gotta quit. He didn’t want to quit. He said, “I’m not quitting.” They said, “You’re going to quit.” He said, “I’m not quitting. I’ve got 14 million votes. I’m not quitting.” They said, “If you don’t quit, we’re going to deal with you mentally under the 25th Amendment.” He said, “Like I said before, I think I’m going to quit.” So they made him quit.
Think about it: You've fought hard, you've run a campaign, you've spent a lot of money, a lot of time, a lot of energy, and he's losing. And then they say, "Let's take him out of the race. We'll get a new contestant." The new contestant is her, probably my second choice. He's always my first choice, but she'll be my second choice.
Again, if we don't win this game - and I know you guys don't pay that much attention to politics, but you have to pay attention to politics because there's a lot of politics involved in what you do. If we don't win this game, this country could be doomed. If this country is going to be in their hands, we have to get involved. We have to fight, and we have to win.
I promise the Bitcoin community that the day I am sworn in, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' anti-crypto campaign will end. It will end. It will be done. The moment I am sworn in, the persecution will stop, the weaponization of your industry will end. As long as I am in the White House, Elizabeth Warren and her minions - who treat you terribly and hate everything about you - will not touch Bitcoin. They will not touch crypto. They will let it grow. We will let it grow.
On my first day in office, I will fire Gary Gensler and appoint a new SEC Chairman who believes that America should build the future, not hinder it, which is exactly what they want. (Odaily Note: The whole audience stood up and applauded here)
Wow, didn't know this would be so popular. Let me say it again: On my first day in office, I will fire Gary Gensler.
And Harris wants him to be the Secretary of the Treasury. That's not good. He was the finance director for Hillary Clinton. You know what? Hillary, she's a badass. Remember Hillary? Do you remember he was the finance chairman for Hillary Clinton's campaign? Against the gentleman called Donald Trump? He was not popular at all. In fact, he was at my wedding, you know? Our first lady Melania was there, and Hillary and Bill were there. Things are so unpredictable in campaigns.
As President, I will immediately shut down Operation Choke Point 2.0. They want to kill your business. We will not let that happen. Never again will your government sit back and watch Bitcoin jobs and businesses flee to other countries because American laws are too unclear, too harsh, too angry, too inflexible. We will keep every Bitcoin job in the United States. That's what we're going to do. As soon as I take office, I will immediately establish a Presidential Advisory Commission on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency. Anyone willing to serve on this special commission?
Their job is to design transparent regulatory guidance for the entire industry, and they will get the job done. In 100 days, we will have regulations, but from now on, those rules will be written by people who love your industry, not those who hate it. These are the people who want to make regulations clear, simple, straightforward, and fair, and who want to see your industry thrive, not fail.
Next, I will immediately order the Treasury Department and other federal agencies to cease all necessary steps. There is a thing going on in your industry - they want to move in the direction of creating a central bank digital currency. Forget it. There will never be a central bank digital currency when I am President of the United States. I will always defend the right to self-custody and self-sovereignty. We will have a great industry. You will have a great industry, and we will advance your industry, not destroy it. America will once again be a country that protects property rights, privacy, freedom of exchange, freedom of association, and freedom of speech. We will change, and we will return to the days when we were a nation that built, not a nation that eats itself from the inside.
As part of our efforts to provide regulatory clarity, we will create a framework to enable the safe and responsible expansion of stablecoins. Do you know what a stablecoin is? Anyone? Raise your hand. This will allow us to extend the dominance of the dollar and establish new frontiers around the world. America will be richer, the world will be a better place, and billions of people will be brought into the crypto economy and put their savings in Bitcoin.
Those who say Bitcoin threatens the dollar have it all backwards. I believe the exact opposite. Bitcoin does not threaten the dollar. It is the actions of the current U.S. government that are the real threat to the dollar. The danger to our financial future does not come from cryptocurrency, it comes from Washington, D.C. It comes from trillions of dollars wasted, rampant inflation, and open borders while providing welfare and free healthcare to the millions of illegal immigrants pouring into our country.
It comes from printing hundreds of billions of dollars to finance endless wars overseas while our cities resemble war zones. Just two weeks ago in Chicago, 117 people were shot in seven days. Nothing like this in Afghanistan.
You know, think about these places, look at what's happened in our cities, what's happened over the last three years, three and a half years. Nobody's ever seen anything like this. Think about this: 117 people were shot over the Independence Day weekend. One hundred and seventeen, 17 of them died. This is America. I don't think this is it.
By the way, when I was president, we had no new wars. We didn’t start any wars. Remember when Hillary said I would start wars? Look at his character. No, I said my character would keep us away from wars. We ended some old wars, like ISIS, which they said would take five years or more to defeat. We did it in four weeks. In fact, some people said it would take longer, but we had a great military. It was not an awakened military, by the way. Maybe some people at the top were awakened, but our military was not. I witnessed it firsthand. They did things that no one thought was possible.
Our real generals and soldiers are not woke. They try to make them woke, but these people will not wake up. I can guarantee you that. With your support, this November, we will restore competence and common sense to our nation's capital. Because in the end, this is not about conservative, liberal, or progressive. They like the word "progressive" because it sounds good, right? But it will destroy our country. It has actually become a terrible word. It will destroy our country. This is about common sense. We want to bring common sense back. We are talking about common sense today. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will soar like never before, even beyond your expectations. It is because of your efforts that we can stop the war on cryptocurrencies.
We will immediately and quickly begin rebuilding our economy because when America thrives, Bitcoin soars with it. We have had the greatest economy ever and we will have it again soon.
During the Trump administration, the typical middle-class household income increased by $6,000 per year. People don't like to mention this. As a result, Americans have more money to save than at any time in decades. In the four years I was in office, Bitcoin surged 3,900%, from $898 when I took office to $35,900. That's almost the biggest increase of any industry. Think about it.
Now, compare what we've seen in three and a half years under Biden and Harris. Inflation is up 50%. Now, 50% sounds good, but not so good when you compare it to almost 4,000%, right? Normally you'd say, "Oh, 50% sounds good." But when people can't afford food or rent and don't have savings to put in Bitcoin, this administration has created the greatest inflation in the history of our country. Our people are being wiped out.
We're going to replace the Biden-Harris economic stagnation with the brand new Trump economic boom from day one when we're back in the White House. You're going to have a huge boom. You know, there are a lot of great analysts out there. Scott, I'm talking about you, Scott, you're one of the greats.
There are other people who say the stock market is going up because they think Trump is going to get elected. If Trump isn't elected, they think the country is going to go into a depression like the Great Depression of 1929. I wish that wasn't true, but I understand why they say that. The stock market is going up because it looks like we're going to win the election. I don't know what's going to happen with the election. You know, they cheated so badly, I don't know what's going to happen. But if we win, this country is going to be a boom town. It's going to be booming like it's never been before.
The current administration's economic plan includes trillions of dollars in new spending and a half trillion dollars in tax increases. They want to raise $5 trillion in taxes. They want the Trump tax cuts to expire. They want to impose a wealth confiscation tax, which means when you make all that money and employ all these people, they want to take your money away in the form of unprecedented taxes and massive capital gains taxes, which will be over 50% in many states.
My plan is the exact opposite. We will promote workers and make many people savers. We will reward success, not punish success. They want to punish success and genius. We will not let that happen.
I will make the Trump tax cuts permanent and provide massive tax cuts for families, individuals, and job-creating businesses. This includes eliminating the tip tax. You know that, right? We're going to eliminate the tip tax.
I will cut unnecessary and burdensome regulations. Work every day to make America the best place in the world to start a business, including a cryptocurrency business. It's going to be the best place. You don't have to go to China, you don't have to learn Chinese. I have a little granddaughter who speaks fluent Chinese. Can you believe it? It's a wonderful thing to do, but it's not easy. But you don't have to do it. The most important thing for our citizens is that we will end this inflation nightmare that this government has created, and end it quickly. It has to end. It's destroying our country. You know, inflation can destroy a country. You can go back many years to Germany. Look at what happened to Germany during the great inflation. It destroyed the country. It is a destroyer of a country.
You Bitcoiners, I say to you, you recognized the dangers of inflation long before most people did. You understood inflation better than anyone. If only they had listened to you. They didn't. The ridiculous waste of trillions of dollars approved by our opponents led to the inflationary disaster that Bitcoiners had been predicting all along. The value of every dollar was quickly wiped out by 20, 30, even 40%. You understood that, but many others did not. The life savings of millions of Americans were quickly destroyed. Runaway inflation is a stealth tax on the middle class. It is. It is a stealth tax. I called it the "Biden tax." Now, I call it the "Harris tax" or the "Harris-Biden tax" or whatever we want to call them. But it is a disaster. It is a 50% tax on people.
This is a human tragedy, and it's destroying people. It's a national disgrace, and it's destroying everything. We must never allow it to happen again. And it won't happen. When I was president, I promised you it wouldn't happen because we would take steps to make sure it didn't happen. They had let prices get completely out of control. We were going to take care of energy and get prices down to levels we hadn't seen in years. We got gas down to $1.87 a gallon. You don't see those prices anymore.
We had virtually no inflation during my four years. When I left office, inflation was 1.4% and stayed that way for almost two years. Remember when Biden said he inherited 9% inflation? That was just another lie, disinformation, misinformation. We gave them a hot economy. We went through COVID and did an amazing job. But we never get credit for it. It’s always the economy and the military that gets credit. We rebuilt the military, created the Space Force. We did a lot of different things and we never get credit for it.
You know what? We gave them a great country with no inflation. Two years later, they took that country and inflation and it went through the roof. The cost of living went up by over 50% in some cases. They say 22%, but it could be much higher depending on what they include. They don't include the factor that the interest rate went from 2.5% to 10%, which made it impossible for people to borrow money.
When I return to the White House, I will stop the insanity and wasteful spending of this administration. I will end the endless wars. Again, we have no new wars under your favorite President Trump. They thought I would start a war. Let me tell you something: I will stop World War III because we are closer to World War III now than at any time since the end of World War II. I will seal the borders and stop the millions of people pouring into our country illegally. We will defeat inflation once and for all and restore the American Dream to citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed. We will restore the American Dream. You will never hear the words "American Dream" again. You no longer hear those words. We used to talk about the American Dream. Many of you are living the American Dream, but if you don't elect me, you will be destroyed. I hate to tell you, but if you don't elect me, you will be destroyed. You will say, "What a mistake. We chose someone who has no talent. She has failed at almost everything, instead of Trump. Look where we are now. We will go from a beautiful house to a teeny tiny house."
We're going to end the war on American energy, and we're going to simply drill, baby, drill. We're going to drill, baby, drill. We have to. We have more liquid gold beneath our feet than any country -- more than Saudi Arabia and Russia. We don't use it. They use it. We don't use it. We go to Venezuela for our oil. It's incredible.
But we won't stop there. We will harness all forms of American energy. I have set an ambitious goal that by the end of my term, America will have the lowest energy and electricity costs in the world. We can do this very cheaply because we have abundant resources right under our feet. With low energy costs, America will become the world's recognized Bitcoin mining powerhouse. You will become a Bitcoin mining powerhouse. You won't have to move your family to China. You won't move to China.
As we implement reforms, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will drive our economic growth, solidify America's financial dominance, and strengthen our nation long into the future.Unknown to many Americans, the U.S. government is one of the largest holders of Bitcoin.
Did anyone know? The federal government owns nearly 210,000 bitcoins, or 1% of the total supply. But our government has long violated the basic rule that every bitcoin enthusiast knows: "HODL." Is that right? How can I understand this? Never sell your bitcoins.
So as a final part of my program today, I am announcing that if I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration that the United States will retain 100% of all Bitcoin currently held or acquired in the future. We will retain 100%. Hopefully you will do well. This will actually serve as the core of a strategic national reserve of Bitcoin.
As you know, most of the Bitcoin that the U.S. government currently holds was acquired through law enforcement actions. You know, they took it from you. "Let's take that person's life, take his family, his house, his Bitcoin." They were taken from you because this is the direction we're going now. This is the direction the country is going under this fascist regime.
We will take steps to transform this great wealth into a permanent national asset that benefits all Americans. Today, I renew my commitment to commuting Ross Ulbricht's sentence to time already served. He has paid enough. That is the essence of who we are as a country.
Ultimately, my promise to everyone is this: I will be the pro-innovation and pro-Bitcoin president that America needs. This will be a thriving industry, a great industry. I will do the same for other industries. Our country has never prospered by censoring new ideas and stifling the dreams of its people.
America has always planted its flag on new frontiers and pushed forward boldly. We must do the same. We haven't done that in a long time, especially in the past three and a half years, when the opposite has happened.
You are the heirs of generations of American pioneers, patriots, adventurers, and rebels who populated this continent and built the modern world. You are on the cutting edge. You know this, Bitcoiners, don't you? You are the modern-day Edisons, Wright brothers, Edisons, and Henry Fords. What you do in your lifetime has the potential to surpass all of us and inspire generations to come.
Today will go down in history as a very important day in the history of your industry. You are using your wisdom, courage, and commitment to build America's future. You are investing a lot, and this is what you are doing. It takes courage. Most people don't have that courage.
My job will be to set you free to do what you do best - and you will do it better than anyone: win, win, win. You will win with energy, passion, and intelligence that we rarely see. Our country cannot fail. We are a failed nation now, but not for long. Our country cannot fail. With your help, we will save our country, restore our Republic, and make America and Bitcoin bigger, better, stronger, richer, freer, and greater than ever before.
Thank you all. I hope you have fun working with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and beyond. We are going to make this one of the greatest industries on Earth. Good luck to you all and God bless you all. Thank you.
