On July 13th, at 18:11 Eastern Time, former US President Donald Trump, a popular figure in the presidential election, was attacked at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. With the sound of gunfire, Trump’s chances of winning the election reached unprecedented heights.
As the US election suspense gradually became clear, the assassination attempt became a catalyst for market trends, and cryptocurrency rebounded immediately, quickly breaking through $60,000 and briefly reaching $65,000.
Two days after the assassination attempt, Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he had chosen Republican Ohio Senator JD Vance as his vice presidential candidate. Vance has long been a supporter of cryptocurrency and publicly disclosed that he owns over $200,000 in cryptocurrency assets. He appreciates the freedom provided by cryptocurrencies through their anti-censorship properties. This nomination undoubtedly strengthens the Trump camp’s belief in cryptocurrency.
During his previous tenure as president, Trump appointed several officials who were friendly towards cryptocurrencies. This may be one of the reasons for the collective rise in cryptocurrency assets when Trump’s election prospects were good.
Many cryptocurrency-friendly individuals have served in the Trump administration.
JD Vance, the vice presidential candidate for Trump’s 2014 election, is a supporter of cryptocurrency. In addition to owning cryptocurrency assets, he has publicly criticized the US SEC for excessive regulation of cryptocurrencies. Vance has voted in the Senate to abolish the SAB-121 accounting standards, which are highly resistant to the cryptocurrency industry, and plans to propose a more crypto-friendly cryptocurrency regulatory bill.
During his previous tenure as president, Trump appointed several cryptocurrency-friendly individuals to important positions.
In 2017, Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of Skybridge Capital, was appointed as Trump’s White House communications director. Skybridge Capital is a hedge fund company that manages $3.5 billion in assets, nearly half of which are related to cryptocurrency. Anthony Scaramucci is also a staunch supporter and advocate of Bitcoin.
On December 15, 2018, Trump appointed Bitcoin supporter Mick Mulvaney as White House Chief of Staff. Mick Mulvaney is a supporter and advocate of cryptocurrencies. When he was in the House of Representatives, he was one of the people dedicated to creating a blockchain core group (a legislator who writes and formulates new laws for emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies), and helped draft two new legislative resolutions supporting the development and evolution of the blockchain industry: House Resolution 1108 and House Resolution 7002.
In April 2020, Trump appointed billionaire and blockchain supporter Mark Cuban as his advisory consultant. Mark Cuban is known for advocating bold cryptocurrency investments and has been called a Bitcoin tycoon. He compared the cryptocurrency landscape to the explosive growth of the Internet in the 1990s and emphasized its potential for huge returns.
On June 4, 2020, Trump nominated Hester Peirce, a commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for a second term. She has earned the nickname “Crypto Mom” for her support of digital assets (and criticism of excessive regulation of cryptocurrencies).
The Trump family also likes to issue cryptocurrency assets. Former First Lady Melania was the first in the Trump family to actively embrace cryptocurrencies. In late 2021, she launched her first NFT collection, “Presidential Heads of State,” on her website for 1 Sol, approximately $185 at the time, on the Solana blockchain.
When asked about Melania’s NFT during an interview with Fox, Trump said, “She will do well, she has a rich imagination.”
After leaving the White House, Trump has been adept at leveraging the easily influenced cryptocurrency market for his brand. In December 2022, he announced the release of a limited edition Trump digital trading card NFT on Truth Social, priced at $99 and minted on the Polygon network. According to OpenSea data, a total of 45,000 NFTs were sold, with a total transaction volume of over 648 ETH, approximately $785,000, and at one point, the floor price reached 0.84 ETH.
Since then, the release of the Trump NFT series has been unstoppable. He has launched the “Win Trump Prizes” series, the second series of “Trump Digital Trading Cards,” and the Mugshot Edition, empowering NFTs with rights including dining with Trump, video calls, and playing golf. According to relevant documents, Trump has earned $2.8 million through NFT sales.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have become an important influential force in the face of Generation Z-led American society.
According to Coinbase data, in 2023, 52 million Americans will own cryptocurrencies, accounting for 20% of the adult population. In this trend, in order to maximize political goals and commercial interests, as well as to win votes, Trump has become a “sudden crypto supporter.”
Trump stated in his campaign speech that if he were to become president again, he would never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). He believes that this would give the government absolute control over funds. On May 9th, he officially accepted cryptocurrency donations for his presidential campaign. This move also gained him a lot of support and solidified his position in the general election.
Trump has previously pardoned cryptocurrency figures. Before leaving office in 2021, he pardoned Ken Kurson, a member of Ripple’s board of directors. According to The New York Times, Trump had previously met with supporters on a private plane provided by a scrap metal recycling giant and cryptocurrency miner.
In order to attract young American voters, Trump promised in May of this year that if he ultimately won, he would pardon Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and emphasized support for the right to self-custody. This undoubtedly gained widespread consensus in the cryptocurrency community, as Ross is seen as a martyr by many cryptocurrency enthusiasts and libertarians.
In addition, Trump’s recent public statements on the cryptocurrency field have won support from the US cryptocurrency industry. Jesse Powell, co-founder of Kraken, donated $1 million in ETH to Trump as an individual.
After the attack on Trump, Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey publicly stated plans to raise $15 million for Trump’s re-election campaign later this month.
“Dogecoin’s Father” Elon Musk publicly expressed support for Trump for the first time and pledged to donate approximately $45 million per month to a new Super PAC to support Trump’s presidential campaign.
According to records from the Federal Election Commission, Gemini’s co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss each donated $250,000 to the Trump Super PAC.
At the same time, public data shows that in the second quarter of this year, Trump Super PAC, supported by Joe Lonsdale of Palantir and cryptocurrency billionaires Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, raised $8.8 million.
However, some cryptocurrency insiders who understand US politics well are skeptical of Trump’s recent positive cryptocurrency remarks. Arthur Hayes criticized Trump’s sudden interest in cryptocurrencies in his recent blog post “Hot Chick,” stating that “pleasing the young, politically active, and nouveau riche cryptocurrency community” is just a means for Trump to win the election. He also predicted that once Trump takes office, his so-called support and concern for cryptocurrencies will become a distant memory.
Doubts from the cryptocurrency community are not limited to this. At Trump’s NFT dinner in May, he was criticized for not truly understanding cryptocurrency policies. During the event, only a few questions focused on cryptocurrencies, and his understanding of cryptocurrency policies was sporadic and not worth discussing. When asked how he would change the policy of expelling the cryptocurrency industry from the country, he said, “We will stop it because I don’t want that. I want them to stay here if we’re going to embrace it.” Such an answer obviously did not provide specific policy directions and measures.
Regarding Trump’s sudden shift in cryptocurrency attitude, some senior figures and observers from the cryptocurrency community also pointed out that Trump’s past attitude towards cryptocurrencies was not friendly, and he even publicly declared Bitcoin a scam and called for stronger regulation. Now that his position has made a 180-degree turn, it is hard not to suspect the motivations behind it. As criticized by Arthur Hayes and others, Trump’s positive cryptocurrency remarks may just be temporary political showmanship, and whether he will truly fulfill his promises and bring substantial benefits to the cryptocurrency industry if elected is still unknown.
Despite the shooting, Trump stated that he will still speak at the Bitcoin conference in 2024 as scheduled. It remains to be seen whether his speech will provide deeper insights into cryptocurrencies and future policies.
