Donald Trump’s Presidential Platform on Crypto (2024)

Is Trump a pro-crypto candidate?

President Trump has positioned himself as the crypto-friendly candidate in the 2024 election. Let’s walk through some of the crypto-friendly gestures made by the Trump campaign. 

• Friendly crypto regulations: Trump’s official platform states that ‘Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and un-American Crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency.” 
• BTC mined in America: On Truth Social, President Trump called for all Bitcoin to be mined in America. While it’s unclear how this could be enforced due to Bitcoin’s decentralized nature, it’s a clear sign that Trump is running on a pro-Bitcoin platform. 
• Crypto for campaign funding: In the past few years, Trump has used crypto-assets as a source of campaign funding. In 2022, President Trump unveiled his own signature NFT collection. This year, Trump’s campaign started accepting cryptocurrency donations. 

Some prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneurs have publicly endorsed Donald Trump.   However, critics — such as Uniswap Labs’s Marvin Ammori — argue that Trump's pro-crypto campaign promises will not lead to real action due to the lobbying power of the banking industry. 

Is the crypto industry backing Trump? 

President Trump has received contributions from some of the biggest names in crypto. 

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell and Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founders of Gemini, have each made substantial contributions to Trump's campaign. 

In a post on X, Tyler Winklevoss stated the following:

"Over the past few years, the Biden Administration has openly declared war against crypto. It has weaponized multiple government agencies to bully, harass, and sue the good actors in our industry in an effort to destroy it… President Donald J. Trump is the pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business choice.” 

How is Biden regulating crypto?

For years, the Biden Administration has been perceived as anti-crypto. 

Biden-appointed SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has been called one of cryptocurrency’s ‘most implacable foes’ by Politico. Under Gensler’s leadership, the SEC has filed lawsuits against prominent cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken. 

In addition, Tyler Winklevoss has claimed that under Biden, federal agencies have warned banks not to accept crypto companies as clients behind closed doors. 

It’s likely that under a Trump Administration, federal agencies would take a friendlier stance towards cryptocurrency. 

Is Biden’s stance towards crypto changing? 

In the run-up to the election, the Biden Administration has been making friendly gestures towards the cryptocurrency ecosystem — possibly due to the threat of the crypto industry uniting behind Trump. For example, the SEC approved the Ethereum ETF — which some commentators saw as a politically-motivated move to win favor from the crypto industry before the election. 

According to reports, the Biden Administration has also reached out to companies like Ripple and Coinbase to discuss cryptocurrency policy in recent months.  

How has Trump’s stance on crypto changed? 

Trump's current pro-crypto stance marks a significant shift from his first term. 

In 2019, then-President Trump was quoted saying, “I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity....” 

While it’s clear that Trump’s stance on crypto has changed, the former President has continued to voice the importance of dollar dominance. In a 2024 interview, Trump stated the following:

“I hate when countries go off the dollar. I would not allow countries to go off the dollar because when we lose that standard, that will be like losing a revolutionary war. That will be a hit to our country just like losing a war, and we can’t let that happen.” 

Will cryptocurrency be a major issue in the 2024 election? 

It’s likely that cryptocurrency will be a key issue in the 2024 election. A poll found that 33% of voters will consider a candidate’s stance on crypto when casting their vote. 

It’s estimated that more than 50 million Americans own cryptocurrency, which means that cryptocurrency regulation is an important issue for many voters. In addition, crypto PACs have received more than $50 million of donations from companies like Ripple and Coinbase. 

Polling data suggests that many Republicans who were not planning to vote for Trump are pleased with his new stance on cryptocurrency. 

Conclusion

As America builds an economy for the 21st century, blockchain technology will play a crucial role. No matter who you plan to vote for in the 2024 election, you should consider their positions on the digital asset economy.