Donald Trump's six crypto promises

Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump did everything to attract cryptocurrency holders. Kamala Harris' rival even appeared on the stage of a major crypto conference, Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, to convince new voters. This is a great first for a candidate for the supreme position.

By adopting the codes of the crypto community, Donald Trump promised to make the United States the Bitcoin capital of the world. The tribune claimed to have “a plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world”.

Newly elected, the 47th President of the United States will have to walk his talk. While waiting for the inauguration of Donald Trump, which is scheduled for January 20, 2025, we look back at the billionaire's main promises in terms of cryptocurrencies.

Also read: Bitcoin hits a new record following Donald Trump's victory

A national bitcoin reserve

This summer, Donald Trump committed to establishing a strategic national reserve of bitcoins. This reserve should allow the United States to accumulate up to one million bitcoins. To set up this reserve, the Republican plans to simply keep all the bitcoins seized by law enforcement in operations against criminals. Currently, seized cryptocurrencies are regularly resold at auctions, in the same way as physical goods, such as cars or houses.

The latest news is that the United States already holds a total of 195,000 bitcoinsor nearly $15 billion at current prices. Uncle Sam's war chest represents approximately 1% of BTC in circulation.

This proposal does not come out of nowhere. It is one of the flagship measures of the Bitcoin Acta bill carried by a Republican senator who is a fan of cryptocurrencies, Cynthia Lummis. The senator has been seeking for months to pass a series of proposals aimed at strengthening the United States' place in the world of cryptoassets.

Mining all the remaining bitcoins in the United States

At the same time, Donald Trump wants to make the United States a global power in bitcoin mining. Very ambitious, the future president wants all remaining bitcoins to be mined on American soil using low-cost energy sources.

“With low energy costs, America will become the undisputed Bitcoin mining powerhouse in the world. You will be a Bitcoin mining powerhouse. You won't have to move your family to China »Trump proclaimed last July.

Note that the United States has already made itself a place of choice in the industry mining. Excluded from China, many miners have relocated their machines to more welcoming regions, such as Texas. In a few months, numerous farms emerged, propelling the United States to the rank of world leader in mining with more than 30% of the power of the Bitcoin network, or hashrate. Trump's promise comes a little late. However, the Republican must be able to give even more flexibility to mining farms that would like to establish themselves in the United States.

Furthermore, Donald Trump cannot really guarantee that all the remaining BTC will be mined on American territory. The American president, as powerful as he is, cannot prevent mining farms from generating cryptocurrencies in other countries around the world.

A presidential advisory committee

Among the big promises made by Donald Trump, we find relaxation of the regulatory framework around cryptoassets. Joe Biden's government has been characterized by a certain reluctance towards cryptocurrencies. Many elected Democrats have campaigned extensively for companies in the sector to be more harshly controlled. For Donald Trump, the policy applied by the Democratic administration betrays a lack of understanding of the world of cryptocurrencies:

“They don’t understand it. They are blocking your path. […] For three and a half years, the current administration has waged a war on crypto and Bitcoin like no one has ever seen before. For those in this industry, they are targeting your banks. They are stifling your financial services”.

To win the hearts of investors, Trump pledged to take the opposite of the Biden administration by putting an end to regulatory actions and proposing a simple, more flexible framework that promotes innovation. For the moment, the contours of this more welcoming framework have not yet been outlined. We just know that the strategy will be supervised by a presidential advisory committee.

“Your government will no longer sit back and watch Bitcoin jobs and businesses flee to other countries because US laws are too unclear and too harsh and too angry and too rigid”Trump said during his campaign.

Fire SEC boss Gary Gensler

As part of this relaxation, Donald Trump promised to attack the Securities and Exchange Commissionthe financial regulator of the United States. It is this regulatory body that has orchestrated most of the offensives against the crypto giants. The SEC notably forced several platforms to review their offers and services, such as Kraken, Coinbase or Binance. Under the leadership of the SEC, Binance was forced to bury its dollar-backed stablecoin.

At the head of the SEC is Gary Gensler. Fiercely opposed to the rise of cryptocurrencies, Gensler has attracted hatred from holders and investors in recent years. According to the Blockchain Association, an advocacy group for crypto players, the SEC's actions cost the industry $400 million. The group points the finger at “incalculable losses of American jobs, innovation and investment” caused by the SEC. Trump therefore promised to fire Gary Gensler and appoint a new chairman of the SEC:

“On day one, I’m going to fire Gary Gensler. I will appoint a new SEC chairman who believes America should build the future, not block the future.”

Gary Gensler's mandate is not due to end before 2026. The President of the United States is, however, able to fire a leader of the SEC. To prematurely end the official's mandate, Trump will nevertheless have to find a good reason. It is not possible to fire Gensler without showing just cause. The decision must be justified in court. A host of legal rules govern the process. Furthermore, Trump will have to validate the choice of a new leader by the Senate, which has just fallen into the hands of the Republicans.

In theory, the new president should be able to oust Gary Gensler, but it would not necessarily have to come to that. Typically, SEC executives resign on their own when a new administration comes to power.

No digital dollar under the reign of Donald Trump

A large portion of cryptocurrency holders are opposed to the creation of a digital version of the dollar. In the eyes of the crypto community, the establishment of a central bank digital currency will increase state surveillance over citizens' finances. Anxious to caress the community, Donald Trump has pledged to never authorize the issuance of a digital dollar:

“The creation of a central bank digital currency is complete. Forget it. There will never be a central bank digital currency as long as I am president of the United States.”

Free Ross Ulbricht, creator of Silk Road

Finally, Donald Trump went so far as to promise the release of Ross Ulbricht, the man who founded the criminal supermarket Silk Road. Found guilty of seven counts in February 2015, he remains behind bars. This platform, only accessible on the dark web, allowed you to buy anything and everything with Bitcoin, such as weapons or drugs.

“If you vote for me, on day one, I will change Ross Ulbricht's sentence to a time-limited prison sentence. He's already served 11 years, we're going to bring him home.”assured Donald Trump on several occasions.

Over the years, Ulbricht became a symbol of the beginnings of Bitcoin and government oppression. The pirate, who called himself Dread Pirate Roberts, gradually established himself as a martyr for individual freedoms. By promising his early release, Trump is flattering the many Bitcoin holders close to the libertarian movement. On paper, he is quite capable of freeing Ross Ulbricht. The American Constitution indeed grants the president a limited right of pardon. for federal crimes.

$130 million

With these few promises, Donald Trump did everything to attract cryptocurrency holders to his cause. The maneuver bore fruit. Many big names in the ecosystem have shown their support for the Republican camp. Several well-known actors, like Jesse Powell of Kraken or the Winklevoss brothers, have even injected small fortunes into Trump's campaign. In total, the industry spent $130 million to finance the Republican's race, the New York Times reports. Many have also congratulated Donald Trump on his comeback. For Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, Trump’s victory is also “ a huge win for crypto ».