On a call-in interview with Fox Business in 2021, the recently ousted US president Donald Trump was asked his opinion on bitcoin. The cryptocurrency was on a record-breaking run and on track to be the best performing major asset of the year, with gains 10 times greater than that of gold. "It just seems like a scam," Trump said. "I don't like it because it's another currency competing against the dollar… I want the dollar to be the currency of the world, that's what I've always said."
Less than three years later, Trump is now pitching himself as the "crypto president", pledging to protect the 50 million holders in the US from "Elizabeth Warren and her goons", while also ensuring that "all the remaining bitcoin [is] MADE IN THE USA!!!"
This sudden shift in stance appears to fit with both his nationalistic rhetoric and his implacable opposition to Democratic policies and regulation – but there may be a more wily reason. The switch coincided with a survey in May that revealed just over a fifth of voters in crucial swing states consider cryptocurrency to be a deciding factor in who they vote for.
That same month, the Trump campaign announced that it would begin accepting donations in crypto, including bitcoin, dogecoin and ethereum (ETH) – raising $3 million to date. Trump and his team have also been meeting with industry figures, and on Tuesday made the biggest play yet by announcing a pro-crypto candidate as his running mate.
JD Vance is the first ever bitcoin holder, or 'bitcoiner', on the presidential ticket, owning somewhere between $136,000 and $390,000 worth of cryptocurrency, according to his Senate financial disclosure reports. He has also made several crypto-friendly moves during his 20 months as a senator, including the introduction of a bill that would protect cryptocurrency firms and exchanges from being cut off by traditional banks.
Crypto investors and traders already appear convinced by the promise of a Trump presidency. In the wake of the failed assassination attempt last weekend, the price of bitcoin surged nearly 10 per cent (see chart below) as bookmakers placed him as the overwhelming favourite to retake the White House in November.
Trump's foray into the space may reach its pinnacle later this month at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. A keynote address at one of the world's biggest crypto conferences is being billed by organisers as a "speech that will be heard around the world". While some hope it will galvanise big-spending industry donors and solidify support from the crypto-holding voters in swing states, it may also expose his complete lack of knowledge on the subject.
He is also known for erratic shifts in opinion and not actually following through with campaign promises, while Vance has previously described himself as a "flip flop flipper" for his tendency to radically change his mind. In a TV interview in October 2016 – just three weeks before the US presidential elections that brought Trump to power for the first time – Vance described himself as a "never Trump guy", adding, "I never liked him".
It may therefore prove that a vote for Trump/Vance is not necessarily a vote for bitcoin.
