By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
Trump Promises to Fire SEC Chair on First Day if Re elected, Courts Crypto Industry Support
Donald Trump addressed one of the year's largest cryptocurrency events, Bitcoin 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee, declaring that he would dismiss the chairperson of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on his first day in office if re elected. Speaking on Saturday as the keynote speaker, Trump aimed to garner support and campaign donations from the tech community.
Cryptocurrency has become a contentious political issue for Republicans, with Trump asserting that the Democratic Party and Vice President Kamala Harris oppose crypto. The crowd was most animated when Trump vowed to fire SEC chair Gary Gensler, appointed by President Joe Biden, drawing loud cheers and chants of “Trump.” Gensler has been a critic of the crypto industry, labeling it rife with “hucksters” and leading a crackdown that included charging Sam Bankman Fried, the "King of Crypto," who was sentenced to 25 years for defrauding customers of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
During his 45 minute speech, Trump outlined his vision for the sector, pledging to make the US the global cryptocurrency capital. This marked a significant shift from his 2021 comments to Fox Business, where he labeled Bitcoin a “scam” affecting the US dollar’s value. Trump promised to retain 100% of Bitcoin that the US government holds or acquires, referring to it as a “national Bitcoin stockpile.” He also proposed establishing a Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council and promised to build power plants using fossil fuels to meet the high electricity demands of cryptocurrency mining.
Recent months have seen growing support from tech leaders for Trump’s campaign. Tesla founder Elon Musk and the Winklevoss twins, prominent crypto figures, have endorsed him. Trump highlighted that his campaign, which accepts cryptocurrency donations, has raised $25 million in the past two months, although he did not specify how much of this was in crypto.
Framing cryptocurrency regulation as a partisan issue, Trump criticized the Biden administration as “anti-crypto.” Several Republican lawmakers attended his speech, including Senators Tim Scott and Tommy Tuberville, as well as former presidential candidate and Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Democratic lawmakers Wiley Nickel and Ro Khanna also spoke at the event. Earlier, Congressman Nickel had praised Kamala Harris for her “forward looking approach to digital assets and blockchain technology.”
The event highlighted the growing political significance of cryptocurrency, with Trump positioning himself as a champion of the industry against regulatory pressures from the current administration.
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