Donald Trump

Why Did Trump Change His Mind on Bitcoin?

Published

5 months ago

July 26, 2024

“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 cryptoassets can facilitate unlawful behaviour, including drug trade and other illegal activity.”

Thankfully, the official position of the Republican Party has changed dramatically since President Donald J Trump condemned the emerging crypto industry in those uncompromising terms back in 2019.

Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee adopted an ambitious platform to promote innovation in the US’ digital assets industry and protect the rights of bitcoin holders.

For one, the official platform pledges that the Republicans will “defend the right to mine bitcoin.” This represents a much-needed departure from the policies of the incumbent administration.

In February this year, the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued an “emergency” survey to bitcoin mining companies, demanding highly sensitive information such as the specifications of the machines being used, the specific locations of their mining operations, and contractual information relating to their commercial energy partners. The EIA not only demanded all of this information but pledged to publish even the most commercially sensitive bits of it.

This initiative represented an unprecedented intrusion into the activities of Bitcoin miners and a massive assault on the crypto industry. It prompted organizations such as the Texas Blockchain Council to launch legal proceedings to try and protect the rights of the crypto industry against federal outreach. The Republicans’ pledge to “defend the right to mine bitcoin” is therefore very welcome.

There are other encouraging pledges that the Republicans have made. The GOP has said they will “ensure every American has the right to self-custody their digital assets and transact free from government surveillance and control.”

They have also come out strongly against the idea of a CBDC. “Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and un-American crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency,” the party has said.

Of course, all of this is highly encouraging for digital asset industry advocates. But it still begs the question. What caused President Trump to change his mind and start embracing the massive potential of digital assets and decentralized finance? How has this pro-digital asset agenda vaulted into the limelight of Presidential politics?

If there is one man who has contributed more than anybody else to changing Republicans’ mind on crypto, it is Vivek Ramaswamy. The former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur is clearly having increasing amounts of influence on the GOP inner circle. At the Republican Convention this month, Donald Trump Jr joked that he would like Ramaswamy to be his running mate in 2036. Indeed, ever since his presidential bid last year, it is clear that he has been one of the leading voices at the upper echelons of the Republicans guiding the party in a more pro-crypto direction.

Ramaswamy made waves in GOP circles when, at the North American Blockchain Summit in Texas last year, he released a detailed and comprehensive plan for the US crypto space.

What did he pledge to do? Perhaps the most eye-catching measure was his promise to fire most of the employees at the bloated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and order the rest to stop trying to bully the crypto industry. Importantly, Ramaswamy defines many cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as commodities that are therefore not under the jurisdiction of the SEC.

“I think it’s nothing short of embarrassing that Gary Gensler, the current leader of the SEC, in front of Congress could not even say whether Ethereum counted as a regulated security or not,” Ramaswamy said during one of the Republican debates last year. “This is just another example of the administrative state gone too far.”

Ramaswamy has been a vocal advocate for innovation in the crypto space and the use of decentralized digital currencies as a tool for financial freedom. He has argued that the right to code should be a right protected by the First Amendment, protecting developers from the overreaches of federal agencies.

He has also said that consumers should have a right to possess self-hosted digital wallets beyond the grasp of the government. This has now been explicitly adopted by the Republicans for their 2024 election campaign, showing the practical influence Ramaswamy is having on Republican policy.

It is not just Ramaswamy who has been positively influencing Republican policy. Back in May last year, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, brought into force a law banning any potential CBDC being used in the state. The regulation “prohibits the use of a federally adopted CBDC by excluding it from the definition of money within Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code.”

Efforts like this have been essential in making the Republican leadership aware of the dangers associated with CBDCs and prompting them to pledge action.

But arguably the most important impactful of Ramaswamy’s crypto activism is to persuade the broader Republican Party that supporting crypto innovation is in line with their political philosophy and natural instincts.

He has powerfully argued that the current federal assault on the crypto industry is “an embodiment of our national decline” in the way it represents an attack on innovation and entrepreneurship, two values the Republicans have always claimed to hold dear.

Ramaswamy has similarly noted that Bitcoin mining is “a frontier in American innovation” in the same tradition as American heroes such as Thomas Jefferson – who Ramaswamy thinks “would have been a Bitcoin miner.” This rhetoric seems to have worked in convincing President Trump and Republican leaders that they should indeed be the pro-bitcoin party.

Another key emerging figure in the Republican party who is of a similar mind on digital assets as Vivek is Trump’s recent VP pick, J.D. Vance. Senator Vance is vocal about his support for bitcoin and digital assets and has a background in tech venture capital. He is young and he understands the importance of courting younger votes.

So, what will “four more years” of President Trump mean for the US digital asset industry?

Let’s end as we started, with another quote from the President – one that shows, thanks to the efforts of Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Vance and others, just how much the Republican stance on crypto has changed over the last few years.

“I will end Joe Biden’s war on crypto. We will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in America.”

This is a guest post by Mark Shut and Lee Bratcher. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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Donald Trump

Michael Saylor is willing to advise Trump on the crypto policy

Published

2 days ago

December 21, 2024

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MicroStrategy Inc. co-founder and executive Chairman Michael Saylor says he is willing to advise Trump on cryptocurrency policy when the crypto advisory council is set.

During the Dec. 18 episode of the Open Interest show on Bloomberg Television, Saylor voiced his willingness to provide his advice on the digital assets policy to President-elect Donald Trump, either publicly or confidently, if he is asked to do so.

Before expressing his willingness to advise Trump on the crypto policy, Saylor admitted that he had already met “with a lot of people” in the incoming administration but declined to specify the personalities nor mentioned if he already met Trump.

Is Saylor fit for a position?

Since the 2020s, Michael Saylor has been one of the key Bitcoin advocates and investors. Saylor is one who puts money where his mouth is, as he personally spent around one billion dollars on BTC. In 2020, Saylor took to X (Twitter at the time) to announce that he personally owns 17,732 bitcoins and that he acquired these coins before MicroStrategy (MSTR) made the first massive purchase of bitcoins. YahooFinance! reports that currently MicroStrategy owns around 440,000 BTC, which is close to a 2% share of the entire BTC supply. MicroStrategy made headlines on the eve of the latest BTC price peak when the company was included in the Nasdaq 100 index.

Michael Saylor names Bitcoin an apex property of the human race and has an insatiable thirst for bitcoins. He compares Bitcoin to the territories like Manhattan or Alaska that were bought by the early colonist administration, specifying that Bitcoin is rather a kind of cyberspace. That’s why MicroStrategy aims to own bitcoins in bulk. According to Saylor, buying as much of this “space” as possible is crucial for the United States. This vision speaks to the statement posted by Donald Trump on the Truth Social platform. “We want all the remaining Bitcoin to be MADE IN THE USA!” the post reads.

Saylor singled out Trump as the most crypto-friendly Republican politician. It seems that Saylor shares the President-elect’s views on Bitcoin. Although not an outright GOP supporter, in September, Saylor made claims that he sees Republicans as a more progressive party when it comes to cryptocurrency regulation. He names regulation pressure decrease, treating crypto as a tool to boost the U.S. economy, and encouraging individuals to pursue their economic aims using digital finance as progressive characteristics of the Republican approach to the crypto industry.

What Do We Know About the Crypto Advisory Council?

Trump proposed the creation of a crypto advisory council during his now famous speech at the Nashville cryptocurrency conference in July 2024. As of December, not much information about the preparations of this council has been made public.

The participating companies’ lineup is not clear yet. However, it has been reported that such brands as Coinbase, Ripple Labs, Paradigm, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) are seeking interactions with the incoming administration. Allegedly, an a16z rep was involved in advising the Trump team during the presidential campaign. On December 6, Trump introduced entrepreneur and venture capitalist David O. Sacks as the “White House A.I. and Crypto Czar” via the Truth Social post.

It’s worth saying that, to say the least, before 2024, Trump wasn’t an avid crypto enthusiast. In the past, the President-elect made a series of anti-crypto remarks, calling Bitcoin “not money” and saying that the value of cryptocurrencies is based on thin air.

However, the 2024 Presidential campaign saw a drastic change in Trump’s stance on crypto. He started to take donations in digital currencies, visited a major crypto conference in Nashville where he promised to make America “a crypto capital of the world,” and made several important proposals concerning the cryptocurrency policy.

On top of tax cuts for the U.S. cryptocurrency companies, the removal of Gary Gensler from the SEC, and the creation of the strategic Bitcoin reserve, Trump announced the creation of the advisory body with the leading position granted to the richest man on Earth and his passionate supporter Elon Musk. This unofficial agency is called The Department of Government Efficiency, or simply DOGE, a reference to a legendary memecoin, a notorious soft place of a Tesla CEO. Who knows just what else to expect from Donald Trump when he goes crypto?

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China

China May Be On the Verge of Ending Its Bitcoin Ban

Published

5 days ago

December 18, 2024

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Look, I think it’s only a matter of time before China pulls a complete 180 on its Bitcoin ban. Yes, they outlawed trading and mining back in 2021, but honestly, a lot has changed since then — especially this year. Bitcoin’s momentum globally has been insane.

We’ve seen US President-Elect Donald Trump calling to stockpile Bitcoin; Bitcoin ETFs get approved, Fed Chair Jerome Powell calling Bitcoin “digital gold,” Larry Fink flipping pro-Bitcoin, and even Putin saying nice things about it. With all of this happening, I wouldn’t be shocked if China has already started quietly stacking sats (buying bitcoin).

Here’s why I think that: China doesn’t like to announce what it’s doing beforehand — it’s just not how they operate. Former Binance CEO CZ talked about this recently at the Bitcoin MENA conference in Abu Dhabi, saying that while the US loves to make big public statements about upcoming policies (like Trump announcing Bitcoin plans to court voters), Asian countries prefer to move in silence.

And let’s not forget China doesn’t have elections. They don’t need to win over public opinion like Trump does. If they’re making moves with Bitcoin, they’ll do it quietly — and we’ll find out when they’re ready to make it official.

Now, with Trump’s big push for Bitcoin and crypto, I can’t see China sitting on the sidelines for too long. This is turning into a global race, and if China wants to stay competitive, they can’t afford to miss the Bitcoin train. My gut tells me they’re already planning to unban Bitcoin and crypto — and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens as early as Q1 next year, especially if Trump takes office.

Another big hint? Hong Kong. China has a long history of using Hong Kong as a sandbox to test things before rolling them out on the mainland. And this year, we’ve seen Hong Kong make major moves — approving Bitcoin and crypto ETFs and greenlighting more crypto exchanges. Let’s be real: this isn’t a coincidence. They are planning to eliminate crypto taxes for institutions. I think China is watching carefully, and these are early steps toward a broader shift.

In my opinion, China has likely been quietly accumulating bitcoin all along. When the time is right, they’ll unban it — and not just to compete with the US, but to lead. Watch this space. I think it’s going to happen much sooner than most people expect.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin Sell-Off Likely When This Metric Reaches 4%, Analyst Explains

Published

1 week ago

December 14, 2024

admin

Este artículo también está disponible en español.

While Bitcoin (BTC) fluctuates around the critical $100,000 price level, some investors may seek the ideal opportunity to take profits and exit the market. In this context, a CryptoQuant analysis highlights a key BTC metric that can serve as a valuable tool for crafting an exit strategy.

Have Profits In Bitcoin? Keep An Eye On This Indicator

In a Quicktake blog post published today, CryptoQuant contributor Onchain Edge shared insights into timing the sale of BTC during the current bull market. The analyst emphasized the importance of the Bitcoin supply in loss metric, noting its potential to signal when to start exiting the market to preserve profits.

For those unfamiliar with Bitcoin, the supply in loss measures the percentage of BTC held at a loss based on its last moved price. A low percentage of supply in loss typically indicates peak market euphoria and serves as a warning to secure profits before a bear market correction begins.

According to the CryptoQuant analysis, when BTC supply in loss drops below 4%, it signals a good time for investors to consider dollar-cost averaging (DCA) out of their BTC holdings and wait for the next bear market lows. Currently, the BTC supply in loss sits at 8.14%.

DCA is an investment strategy where investors allocate a fixed amount of money to an asset at regular intervals, regardless of its price. This method helps reduce the impact of market volatility and lowers the average cost per unit over time. The analyst adds:

Why? Below 4% means a lot of people are in a profit this is the peak bullrun phase. Trust me you don’t want to be bagholding because you thought we will never see a bear market again. Be fearful when others are greedy.

Analysts Confident Of Further Upside In BTC Price

While tracking the BTC supply in loss metric can help investors safeguard their profits, recent forecasts from crypto analysts suggest there might still be room for further upside before this indicator becomes crucial.

According to crypto analyst Ali Martinez, BTC forms a classic cup and handle pattern on the weekly chart. The premier cryptocurrency looks poised to break out of the bullish formation, with targets as high as $275,000.

Similarly, Donald Trump’s victory has brought fresh optimism in the crypto industry. In the recently concluded Bitcoin MENA conference in Abu Dhabi, Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, noted that BTC investors can “expect more than $100,000” during the ongoing market cycle.

Other forecasts remain equally bullish. Tom Dunleavy, Chief Investment Officer at MV Global, projects BTC to reach $250,000, while Ethereum (ETH) might climb to $12,000 during this market cycle. BTC trades at $100,983 at press time, up a modest 0.1% in the past 24 hours.