Regulation
Donald Trump Cites Chinese Competition in Vow to Create Bitcoin ‘Reserve’
Trump also reiterated that he would commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, who is serving a life sentence for creating and operating the website Silk Road, which allowed users to secretly buy and sell drugs and other illegal products.
Ulbricht’s time served was “enough,” Trump said to applause and chants of “Liberate Ross” from the crowd.
Countries around the world, including the United States, have expressed concern that highly volatile, privately managed digital currencies could undermine government control over financial and monetary systems, increase systemic risk, promote financial crime, and harm investors.
Digital asset advocates say cryptocurrency users are becoming a growing political force this election cycle, though it’s unclear how many users would prioritize cryptocurrency over other issues at the ballot box.
Some cryptocurrency advocates are backing Trump, and any move by the United States to create a national bitcoin reserve would likely be seen by them as a major step in legitimizing cryptocurrency.
Jack Mallers, CEO of global bitcoin app Strike, told Reuters that Trump’s proposal to create a strategic bitcoin reserve was an “incredible vote of confidence.”
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency industry executives are pushing back against the enforcement measures taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission under President Joe Biden.
The agency said several cryptocurrency firms, including Coinbase and Binance, facilitated the trading of digital assets on their platforms that were supposed to be registered as securities, which the firms denied.
On Saturday, a group of about 30 Democratic lawmakers and congressional candidates sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee and Harris, urging them to take a “forward-thinking” approach to digital assets.
“From an electoral perspective, crypto and blockchain technologies have a huge impact on securing victories in all elections,” they wrote.