Former United States president and current Republican candidate Donald Trump announced his intent to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, if elected in November. 

After arriving an hour Speaking to the crowd at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump said that he had great respect for the Bitcoin community, adding that “this is like the steel industry” when it was young. 

He told the crowd he had "great respect for the Bitcoin community", adding that “this is like the steel industry” when it was young. 

He also predicted that "one day" Bitcoin would overtake gold, gushing that "Bitcoin is not just a marvel of technology, as you know it's a miracle of cooperation and human achievement."

Trump turns up the heat

It didn't take long for Trump to pivot towards attacks on his political rival, stating that "I've got a low I.Q. opponent, I'm not talking about him I'm talking about her," apparently referring to presumptive Democrat nominee Kamala Harris. 

The former president then pivoted to rhetoric surrounding the energy used by Bitcoin and AI and promising to use fossil fuels to create "so much electricity that you'll be saying please, President sir, we have too much electricity." He also reiterated plans to roll back federal incentives for electric vehicle and charging station manufacturers. 

The crypto president

Trump also stated that he'd be the best candidate for the cryptocurrency and Bitcoin communities, stressing to the crowd that [if they voted him into the presidency] "you'll be so happy, you'll be so happy," before prompting the crowd to thank him for the job he was about to do. 

"If crypto is going to define the future it's going to be mined, minted, and made in America. If Bitcoin is going to the Moon, as they asy, I want it be America that sends it there."

RFK did it first

Speaking at the conference on July 26, Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have made the bigger splash by laying out a Bitcoin-friendly day one policy plan, were he to be elected.

During his speech, he promised to pass an executive order requiring the US Justice Department to transfer the supposed 204,000 BTC held by the Fed into a strategic reserve .

He also said, if elected, he'd order the Treasury Department to purchase 500 BTC daily until the federal reserve reaches at least four million BTC. This, said Kennedy, would allow the US to attain "a position of dominance no other country will be able to usurp." 

Were Kennedy's ambitions to come to fruition, the US government would ultimately control nearly 20% of all Bitcoin that will ever be in circulation.

Snowden rains on the political parade

In contrast, one of the most watched speakers of the previous day’s events on Friday, July 26, was Edward Snowden. His message differed entirely from the parade of incumbent politicos and hopeful US congressional candidates sprinkled throughout the event.

Rather than promoting Bitcoin as a political tool, Snowden warned people to “ cast a vote, but don’t join a cult .” The gist of his speech was the warning that politicians who support Bitcoin and cryptocurrency solely as part of a party agenda for the purpose of courting voters were “not our tribe.”

Snowden, speaking softly throughout his talk, added that the cryptocurrency community should remain wary: “try to get what you need from them, but don’t give yourself to them, even if you have to vote for them.”

Related: US senate hopefuls look for crypto bump at Bitcoin 2024