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In a significant shift from his previous stance, former President Donald Trump expressed support for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency at the Libertarian National Convention last weekend.
His endorsement signifies a monumental and historic shift from his previous skepticism and demonstrates the increasing influence of digital currencies in politics, Global Data reported.
“I will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in the USA, not driven overseas,” Trump told the audience during his speech.
During his presidency, Trump was vocal about his disdain for cryptocurrencies, once describing Bitcoin as a scam while adding: “I don’t like it because it’s another currency competing against the dollar.”
During his speech, Trump pledged to support the right to self-custody for the nation’s 50 million cryptocurrency holders. His commitment comes in the wake of growing concerns among Bitcoin enthusiasts, especially after the April arrest of developers from Samourai wallet, a privacy-focused non-custodial Bitcoin wallet, the outlet reported.
Trump’s 2024 campaign made history with an announcement late last month when officials revealed that the campaign will be the first in U.S. history to accept cryptocurrencies as donations, which is seen as a move that ought to bolster fundraising efforts among tech-savvy supporters.
“Today, President Trump’s campaign has launched a fundraising page that provides any federally permissible donor the ability to give – through its joint fundraising committees – using any cryptocurrency accepted through the Coinbase Commerce product,” the campaign announced.
“This addition to President Trump’s already groundbreaking digital fundraising operation marks the first time a major party Presidential nominee has embraced cryptocurrency for donations. Contribution limits and disclosure requirements for crypto donations will follow Federal Election Commission regulations,” the release continued.
“Starting today, people wanting to make federally permissible donations to the Trump campaign with crypto can do so at: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/crypto.”
The website indicates that the former president is accepting eight different types of digital currency, including Bitcoin, XRP, and USD Coin.
“Demonstrating President Trump’s success as a champion of American freedom and innovation, we proudly offer you a chance to contribute to the campaign with cryptocurrency,” the website says.
Trump’s crypto donation website notes further, “Saving our nation from Biden’s failures requires your support. As Biden piles regulations and red tape on all of us, President Trump stands ready to embrace new technologies that will Make America Great Again.”
Trump became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony on Thursday, but the news wasn’t all bad for him.
Legal analysts’ pre- and post-trial analyses noted that Judge Juan Merchan most likely violated Trump’s constitutional rights in the way he presided over the trial. In contrast, others claimed that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg created the laws that led to the former president’s conviction. Still, others noted that Trump was also convicted of federal campaign finance violations, which state and local DAs have no authority to prosecute.
But beyond the legal opinions—Trump’s lawyers are expected to immediately appeal his conviction—the former president managed a fundraising bonanza in the hours after the trial, with a campaign website crashing moments after the guilty verdict on all 34 counts was read.
The New York Times reported that WinRed, the payment processor for Republican campaign donations, crashed after his felony conviction. His campaign attributed the crash to the high number of people trying to donate in the immediate aftermath of the verdict.
“So many Americans were moved to donate to President Trump’s campaign that the WinRed pages went down,” the Trump campaign said in a statement on social media.
While the Times report did not mention it, President Joe Biden’s campaign also quickly attempted to cash in on the guilty verdict, Fox News reported.
