Violet Vallaya
Former U.S. President Donald Trump made waves in the cryptocurrency world during a special gathering Wednesday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“I’m good with it…if you like crypto in any form, and it comes in a lot of different forms…if you’re in favor of crypto, you better vote for Trump,” he said.
A spectator voiced concern over the exodus of crypto companies from the United States due to perceived hostility toward the industry.
The former president replied to him, saying, “If we embrace it, we need to let them stay here.”
During the event, Trump engaged with the crypto-savvy audience, hinting at the possibility of his campaign accepting donations in Bitcoin, a move that analysts suggest could boost Bitcoin’s prospects should Trump win the 2024 presidential election.
“If you can’t, I’ll ensure you can. Can we donate to the Trump campaign using crypto? I believe the answer is yes.”
However, Trump didn’t shy away from criticizing incumbent President Joe Biden’s understanding of cryptocurrency, stating, “Biden doesn’t know.”
He also aimed at Gary Gensler, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Democratic stance on crypto regulation, asserting, “But I’m good with it.”
Coinciding with the Mar-a-Lago event was the passage of a resolution in the U.S. House condemning the SEC’s crypto banking policy.
Ron Hammond, government relations director at the Blockchain Association, noted the unexpected turn of events, tweeting, “I didn’t think crypto would be an election issue, but today’s polar opposite statements proved that.”
Interestingly, meme coins featuring caricatures of both Trump and Biden experienced a surge in prices.
Tokens like “Jeo Boden” and “Doland Tremp” reached market capitalizations of $473 million and $83 million, respectively, prompting Trump’s astonishment at their value, saying, “That’s a lot of money for a coin; I don’t like that investment.”
