Bitcoin prices have surged in recent weeks, a surge that some say stems from a “political shift” toward the Republican Party ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
On October 15, Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump took to social media X to declare that “Crypto is the future,” calling it a “great technology” and reiterating his intention to make the United States a global leader in digital assets.
Former US President and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump. Source: Donald Trump
In September, analysts at international bank Standard Chartered cited the possibility of a Trump victory as a bullish signal, predicting that Bitcoin (BTC) could hit $125,000 under Trump by the end of the year.
Trump’s emergence as a major supporter of cryptocurrencies comes just years after the former president publicly called Bitcoin a “fraud,” marking a major turning point for cryptocurrencies.
TinTucBitcoin explored Trump's transformation from Bitcoin critic to important market actor.
Bitcoin's value is based on “thin air,” Trump argued during his previous presidency
“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not currencies, and whose value is extremely volatile and based on thin air,” Trump wrote on Twitter in July 2019.
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Trump also warned about the risks of “unregulated crypto assets,” saying they could facilitate “criminal behavior, including drug trafficking and other illegal activities.”
Source: Donald Trump
Trump continued to criticize Bitcoin and crypto even after his presidency ended in January 2021. At that time, X suspended him from the platform, citing violations of the company's policy against "glorifying violence."
The former president publicly denounced Bitcoin again in July 2021, calling it a “fraud” during a Fox Business appearance. Trump justified his remarks by saying that Bitcoin is “another currency that is competing with the dollar.” He stated:
“Bitcoin, it seems like a scam […] I don’t like it because it’s another currency that’s competing with the dollar. It’s basically a currency that’s competing with the dollar. I want the dollar to be the world currency, that’s what I’ve always said.”
Trump Enters Crypto Shortly After Launching 2024 Presidential Campaign
Just over a year after calling Bitcoin a fraud, Trump is starting his gradual involvement in cryptocurrency by launching a non-fungible token (NFT) collectible in late 2022.
See also: Bitcoin Interest Peaks, BTC Price Heads Towards $68K
The NFTs are Trump's first significant public move since announcing his 2024 presidential campaign in November 2022. Trump announced an online store to sell his $99 digital trading cards featuring the superhero.
Trump's announcement of the NFT card collection, Collect Trump Cards. Source: Truth Social
After raising $8.9 million from NFTs, Trump continued to expand his embrace of cryptocurrency, reportedly disclosing between $250,000 and $500,000 in digital assets in a crypto wallet in August 2023.
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham claims that Trump's on-chain assets will exceed $10 million by May 2024.
Trump markets himself as a pro-Bitcoin presidential candidate
With the US presidential election less than three weeks away on November 5, Trump has positioned himself as the pro-crypto candidate through 2024.
By June, Trump expressed strong support for Bitcoin mining and called on the government to encourage the mining of “all remaining Bitcoin” within the United States, claiming that this would help the country become “energy dominant.”
See also: Aethir partners with Filecoin: Quenching GPU thirst, boosting AI
Also in June, Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss pledged $2 million to Trump's re-election campaign, marking a surge in industry support for Trump as the next US president.
In September, Trump became the first sitting US president to publicly use Bitcoin in a payment transaction when he purchased a hamburger with BTC at a bar in New York City.
Trump makes a Bitcoin transaction at an NYC bar. Source: YouTube
While Trump is increasingly seen as a positive sign in the industry, he has yet to publicly address his previous criticisms of Bitcoin and crypto.
While Trump has changed his stance on crypto over the past few years, it remains to be seen whether he will maintain his industry-friendly stance if re-elected president.
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