Written by: flowie, ChainCatcher
Editor: Marco, ChainCatcher
On July 28, Beijing time, the three-day Bitcoin 2024 (Nashville) came to an end.
Bitcoin 2024 is destined to leave the most significant mark in the history of cryptocurrencies. At a critical time for the 2024 US presidential election, this Bitcoin technology forum has become one of the biggest political stages.
Compared with previous years' attention to Bitcoin technological innovation, Bitcoin 2024 attracted many politicians, and the market focus was almost entirely on the politicians' encryption commitments.
US presidential candidates Trump, Robert Kennedy Jr., and several US senators participated in the meeting and proposed key strategies for Bitcoin and even the future direction of the crypto market.
After more than a decade of development, the Bitcoin Conference has grown from a forum that only technology geeks pay attention to to a political stage where politicians gather. Behind this is the continuous expansion of the influence of cryptocurrency, which has finally entered the mainstream.
Bitcoin may not need politicians, but politicians now need cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin 2024 Becomes a Political Stage
Bitcoin 2024 has transformed from a technical forum into a political arena, which may have a profound impact on the direction of the crypto market in the next few years.
The last election year was 2020, when crypto was not only in a bear market, but the Bitcoin conference was unable to be held as scheduled due to the global epidemic.
Bitcoin 2024 comes at a critical time in the US presidential election, and the crypto market is in a bull market, attracting more attention and participation from voters, especially young voters.
As the market value of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies continues to expand, crypto voters are also "gathering together to form a tower", becoming a force that crypto politicians cannot ignore.
In 2013, when the first Bitcoin conference was launched, the price of Bitcoin was only around US$120. In 2020, the last election year, it was around US$8,000.
During Bitcoin 2024, the price of Bitcoin has approached $70,000. This year, the market value of Bitcoin once surpassed that of silver. Trump also said in his speech at the conference that according to the development momentum of Bitcoin, it may surpass gold one day.
Crypto voters have a significant influence on the general election in key battleground states. Research released by Coinbase on July 11 showed that one in six cryptocurrency holders live in key states.
Crypto voters are young, diverse, and politically active, with 90% planning to vote on November 5 and supporting crypto candidates four times as much as non-voters.
In addition to the influence of crypto voters, the monetary power of crypto upstarts cannot be ignored.
After experiencing regulatory crackdowns in 2022-2023, many crypto companies such as Ripple, Coinbase, and Kraken have tried to gain a better living environment through crypto donations. As of June, crypto upstarts have donated more than $200 million to the US election, setting a new record.
Secondly, Trump’s assassination made him the most likely candidate to be elected as the new president of the United States, and his participation brought great attention to Bitcoin2024. Trump and Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey had already reached a strategic alliance before the assassination. David Bailey’s team has been providing advice to Trump’s campaign and confirmed his attendance before the assassination.
Bitcoin 2024, which has become an important stage for politicians, may not be easily replicated in the future, and it is bound to leave a strong mark in the history of encryption.
Politicians’ crypto promises at Bitcoin 2024 may have far-reaching consequences
Bitcoin 2024, where many politicians gathered, in addition to Trump's speech, there are also crypto commitments from several politicians that are worth paying attention to.
Trump, who is currently the most likely to be elected as the new president of the United States, in his speech in the early morning of July 28, in addition to criticizing the Biden administration for suppressing the encryption market and talking about the huge potential of Bitcoin in the future, Trump mainly mentioned the following promises to support the development of encryption after his election.
1. He fired SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day in office and immediately appointed a Presidential Advisory Committee on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency; 2. There will never be a CBDC (central bank digital currency); 3. He promised not to sell the Bitcoin in the hands of the US government and to include it in the national strategic reserve; 4. He also developed the energy industry and supported Bitcoin mining.
Trump said he wanted to "ensure that the United States becomes the global capital of cryptocurrency and the superpower of Bitcoin" to lead and set standards.
However, the Trump meme that night failed to replicate the momentum of memes such as FIGHT during his assassination. In the absence of radical emotional guidance, only "Never sell your Bitcoins" was refined into the meme "NSYB" of the night.
But surprisingly, NSBY was quickly robbed of attention and liquidity by the meme of the same name of Neiro, a Shiba Inu dog newly adopted by the dog owner. Currently, NSYB has basically returned to zero.
In addition to Trump, "including Bitcoin in the national strategic reserve" is also a key promise in the speeches of many politicians. Compared with Trump, the promise of Robert Kennedy Jr., the independent candidate for the US President who spoke first, was more specific and radical.
In his speech, Kennedy promised to start a reserve of 4 million bitcoins on the day of his election, starting with bitcoins stored by the US government from criminal seizures. In addition, he will require the government to purchase 550 bitcoins per day until the reserve reaches 4 million.
Kennedy said: “US BTC holdings should match the size of gold reserves.”
Sen. Cynthia Loomis, R-Wyo., who spoke after Trump, read out her own legislative proposal for accumulating an official U.S. Federal Reserve of 1 million bitcoins over five years.
"This money will be held for at least 20 years and used for one purpose: to reduce our debt," Loomis said.
Previously, many research institutions have analyzed that the inclusion of Bitcoin in the U.S. national strategic reserves will have many impacts.
First of all, the price. If Bitcoin becomes a strategic reserve asset, investors' demand for Bitcoin will inevitably increase sharply, thereby pushing up its price, and its status in the future will be comparable to that of gold.
At the same time, it will also attract other countries or regions to follow the footsteps of the United States and include Bitcoin in their reserve assets.
In response to his speech at the Bitcoin conference, Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang immediately stated on the social platform that, under compliance conditions, Bitcoin could be considered for inclusion in strategic fiscal reserves in the future.
Several senators have also pledged to promote policies that are favorable to the development of digital assets. U.S. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna said at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference that he had officially sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee of the United States urging them to reformulate digital asset policies, hoping to advocate for a pro-innovation approach to support the growth and development of digital assets.
Democrat Wiley Nickel said that 28 Democratic elected members wrote a letter to party leaders, making four demands to the Democratic National Committee and the next Democratic presidential candidate: include support for digital assets in the party platform, select a vice presidential candidate who is well-versed in digital asset policy, select an SEC chairman who supports innovation, and engage with the industry in a meaningful way.
In addition, several politicians have stated that they personally hold Bitcoin assets and will continue to expand their holdings to show their support for Bitcoin and encryption. Kennedy said that most of his wealth is invested in Bitcoin, and Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate John Deaton announced that he would invest 82% of his entire net worth in Bitcoin.
Although there were many positive comments on cryptocurrencies at the conference, not all of them were positive. Edward Snowden, a former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA), mentioned the privacy issues brought about by Bitcoin in his keynote speech at the conference. He believed that Bitcoin transactions were not anonymous and could be traced back to individuals, which posed a risk to personal privacy.
Politicians’ crypto promises to win crypto votes are also facing questions about whether they can be fulfilled. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, once again reminded crypto users not to easily believe their promises. He wrote on X, “Don’t be stupid. Let these blood suckers do something positive for crypto before considering giving them money.”
