Trump promises to halt government bitcoin sales, fire Gensler if elected

It was standing room only at Music City Center in Nashville when former President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of roughly 10,000, according to conference organizers, at the Bitcoin 2024 conference Saturday. 

Among the campaign pledges issued during Trump’s speech: stop government sales of seized bitcoin, create an advisory council focused on crypto issues and, in a moment that elicited particularly passionate applause, fire the current chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler. 

“On day one, I will fire [Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman] Gary Gensler,” Trump told the crowd in the middle of his 50-minute address. The crowd, which had been sitting quietly for about 20 minutes, erupted immediately. 

Whether or not the President has the power to remove an agency head is unclear . Article II of the Constitution does not expressly grant the president this power, nor does the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 

Trump’s speech came a day after fellow presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr., running as an independent, spoke at Bitcoin 2024. Kennedy on Friday told the crowd he expected Trump to announce plans for a bitcoin strategic reserve, a so-called “Bitcoin Fort Knox.” 

“I applaud that announcement,” Kennedy said Friday during a keynote address. 

During his remarks, Trump did not mention a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin specifically, but he did promise that the US government would hold on to all bitcoin assets and create a “stockpile.”

Currently, the US government periodically sells seized bitcoin and crypto assets, a policy that Trump would presumably stop if elected. 

Immediately after Trump left the stage, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-WY., took the podium to announce her new “bitcoin reserve bill,” legislation that would, over five years, mandate that the US creates a reserve of 1 million BTC, to be held for a minimum of 20 years. 

The only permissible use of the tokens will be to reduce national debt, Lummis said. 

Throughout his remarks, Trump pledged to lead an industry friendly administration and criticized the Biden administration for its approach.

“For three and a half years, the current administration has waged a war on crypto,” Trump said. “They slander you as criminals, but that happened to me, too, because I said the election was rigged.”

The crowd cheered in response. 

“This is the kind of spirit that is going to make America great again,” Trump told the crowd. 

“This is the steel industry of 100 years ago,” he added of the bitcoin industry, which he said is still in its infancy. “There’s never been anything like it.”   

The appearance comes as the Trump campaign continues to cozy up to the crypto industry . In a sign of the seriousness on the part of the Trump team, the campaign is seeking to fill a new role: a so-called “crypto czar” to inform policy should Trump win in November, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

Trump added on Saturday that we would create a complete digital asset advisory council, which will be tasked with creating a fair regulatory regime within 100 days. 

Trump’s remarks come a day after 28 Democratic federal and local legislators and candidates penned a letter to Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison asking for party leadership to take a more favorable stance on crypto. 

“There is a public perception that the party holds a negative viewpoint on digital assets, largely due to the current SEC’s approach to these transformative technologies. We believe this previous hostility does not reflect our Party’s progressive, forward-looking, and inclusive values,” the letter read. “A refreshed leader of the ticket represents an opportunity to change that perception.”

The group outlined four requests of the DNC: to include pro-crypto language in their platform, to select a Vice President candidate “sophisticated in digital asset policy,” choose a “pro-innovation” replacement for SEC Chair Gary Gensler and to “engage with industry experts.” 

Among the co-signers of the letter were Reps. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina and Ritchie Torres of New York. 

Bitcoin 2024 organizers earlier this week claimed to be “in talks” with presumed Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris about speaking in Nashville. Harris’ camp declined the invitation, Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey stated on X. 

The Harris campaign did not respond to Blockworks’ request for comment or to confirm these claims. 

Trump in May announced that he would start accepting donations in cryptocurrencies . Since then, two Trump PACs have brought in a combined $4 million in crypto donations, which were converted upon receipt into stablecoin USDC. 

The Trump campaign raised a total of $331 million in the second quarter of the year, per Federal Election Commission filings. Major names in crypto litter the receipts, including Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss, who gave a combined total of 31 BTC, or roughly $2 million, to the Trump 47 Committee PAC. 

The donation was given on June 20. The next day, the twins reported that they had been refunded a portion of the donation, which exceeded the individual contribution limit of $844,600.

Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell donated 245 ETH, which equals about $840,000. One retired woman in California gave the Trump 47 Committee 0.7 BTC, worth around $45,000.

A Department of State employee donated 0.04 BTC, around $2,500 and a McDonalds engineer also gave $650 of ETH, filings show. 

Photo by Casey Wagner for Blockworks

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