Trump didn’t want to hear about Bitcoin. Suddenly he changed his mind. And the market went into euphoria

– Investors in this industry see Donald Trump as a leader who may favor more lenient rules for digital asset markets, or at least not hinder their development, as some of politicians more skeptical – says money.pl Daniel Kotecki, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Poland.

Kostecki points out that the president-elect is seen as a politician who favors deregulation and limiting government intervention in the economy, which could benefit cryptocurrencies, which , unlike traditional finance, based on the idea of ​​decentralization and freedom. However, this was not always the case.

During his first presidency, but also after it, Donald Trump often spoke negatively about bitcoin – the most valuable cryptocurrency. In July 2019, he wrote on Twitter (now X) that he does not like cryptocurrencies because they are not money and their value is very volatile and “based on nothing”. However, unregulated crypto assets, according to the politician, can facilitate illegal activities.

For this entry, the cryptocurrency community left no stone unturned on the politician, turning him into a meme hero. This did not stop Trump from criticizing Bitcoin further. In July 2021, in an interview with Stuart Varney, a journalist and commentator on Fox Business, the Republican called bitcoin a “fraud that competes with the dollar. – I want the dollar to be the world currency – said the politician then.

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The situation has changed this year. During the race for President of the United States with the Democrats (first Joe Biden, and after his resignation with Kamala Harris), Trump began to favor the crypto industry with controversial promises. In an emotional speech before the Libertarian Party’s National Convention in May, he announced his intention to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, who founded an online black market where payments were made bitcoin usage.

Ulbricht, who is accused of organizing a criminal organization that sold drugs, forged documents, money laundering, hacking and ordering murder, was sentenced to double life imprisonment, without parole. He has been in prison since 2013. Some libertarians say his case is an example of government abuse of power and highlights the need for criminal justice reform. As Politico wrote, Ulbricht’s case was one of the most important issues that Trump’s libertarians asked about before the convention in May.

More interesting promises were made on Saturday, July 27 – two weeks after the failed assassination attempt on Trump at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, the state capital Tennessee, US presidential candidate at the time Gary Gensler, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was dismissed, support for bitcoin, the appointment of a cryptocurrency consultant who would “develop clear regulatory guidelines” , and the creation of a strategic reserve in digital currency. . In addition, he talked about maintaining advantages over China and other countries in the field of cryptocurrencies, and he also promised to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world.”

A few days after this speech, on July 31, Senator Cynthia Lummis presented the Act to Promote Innovation, Technology and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) in the Senate, which accepts, among other things,. the creation of the bitcoin reserve mentioned by Trump and the purchase of a million pieces of this digital currency (5% of the total supply of cryptocurrencies).

The US government could officially include bitcoin in its reserves, like other strategic assets such as gold or foreign currencies. This would, on the one hand, protect the country against rising inflation and the possible weakening of the dollar, and on the other hand, respond to the growing interest in cryptocurrencies on around the world, which are starting to be treated as “digital gold” and another form of value storage – explains Daniel Kostecki.

However, the campaign has its own rules, which is why another money.pl interlocutor does not expect the president to go as far as he announced during the election campaign.

– A radical change would certainly undermine the security and stability of the financial market of the United States, therefore, we should not expect rash actions without prior macroeconomic analysis – says Piotr Brewiński, vice president of FinTech in Poland.

Even if there is no crypto revolution in the United States, Donald Trump’s plans will be enough to create a good ground for the development of the crypto industry not only in America but also in Europe.

I hope Europe (and with her Poland), she will not want to be left behind. Such a competition would support the development and adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies around the world – says money.pl Wojciech Kaszycki, president of Mobillum, which specializes in cryptocurrency payment solutions.

It is worth remembering, however, that the outgoing administration announced in the previous elections a relaxation of its policy towards the cryptocurrency sector.

– In the short or medium term, deregulation will make an already difficult market situation difficult. We will continue the previous legislative work which took four years. However, in the long term, it will lead to a significant expansion of the sector – says Marcin Doniecki, an expert of the Polska Cloud Community Europe Association. At the same time, the expert warns against excessive loosening of restrictions in the crypto industry, which could lead to what he has led to deregulation in the banking sector in 2007 and 2008 – until crisis.

The introduction of bitcoin as a reserve component – as we hear – could be a breakthrough for the financial system, but it is possible that it will meet resistance from the central bank. Therefore, allowing supporters of the crypto industry to enter offices, including: to the SEC, according to Daniecki, which could be against representatives of the traditional financial market the crypto sector may be considered too favorable.

According to Mike Novogratz, president of Galaxy Digital and one of the richest people in the industry, the possible candidates for the post of SEC chairman after Donald Trump returns to office are: Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce , who favors the cryptocurrency industry, and Dan Gallagher – the head of the legal department of the online brokerage house Robinhood, Commissioner of the SEC from 2011 to 2015. Politico also wrote that a strong reputation at Gallagher in Republican circles and is seen as a leading candidate for SEC chairman.

Karolina Wysota, journalist at money.pl