Former US President Trump has changed his positive attitude towards Bitcoin?

9 months ago 55

Says “Coexistence with Bitcoin is possible''

Former US President Donald Trump expressed a more positive view of Bitcoin (BTC) at a town hall (a type of debate) held in South Carolina on the 20th.

Moderator Laura Ingraham pointed out that the crypto asset (virtual currency) Bitcoin is decentralized and not controlled by the government, and that younger generations are particularly interested. In response, Mr. Trump said:

I like the dollar, but a lot of people are doing Bitcoin, and frankly Bitcoin has grown into its own context.

Many people are accepting Bitcoin, although there will probably need to be some regulation. Interesting things are happening as more and more people want to pay with Bitcoin. I think it will be possible to come to terms with Bitcoin.

As of June 2021, Mr. Trump was critical of Bitcoin, saying, “It's like a scam.'' By now, it appears that his attitude has softened considerably. On the other hand, some believe that since he is no longer in the position of president, he is now able to express his personal feelings rather than policies.

In the US presidential election to be held in November 2024, policies related to virtual currencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are also becoming an issue of debate.

Currently, incumbent Joe Biden (Democratic Party) and Donald Trump (Republican Party) are expected to be the candidates of their respective parties in the presidential election.

Mr. Trump has taken a stance of strongly criticizing CBDC, citing the risk of public surveillance.

connection:
Virtual currency-related policies will be one of the issues in the US presidential election in November 2024

Regularly releasing original NFTs

Donald Trump has been into NFTs (non-fungible tokens), even though he has remained skeptical of virtual currencies. When he released his first NFT trading card collection in December 2022, it sold out in just a few hours.

He said he didn't have any particular knowledge about NFTs until then, but he liked the art proposed by a group and had a hunch that it would sell.

connection:
Former US President Trump talks about his NFT trading card that sold out immediately

Since then, NFTs have been released regularly, and the most recent release was the third one in December 2023. This is a “mugshot edition'' that uses a photo of himself when he was arrested.

The issuance platform is Polygon's (MATIC) blockchain, and credit cards and virtual currencies are used as payment methods.

connection:
Former President Trump releases new NFT “Mugshot Edition'' containing fragments of his arrest suit

According to financial documents from August 2023, Trump held Ethereum (ETH) worth between 36 million yen and 72 million yen. In December 2023, he transferred Ethereum worth $2.4 million (approximately 340 million yen at the time) to Coinbase, where he appears to have sold it.

connection:
Cryptocurrency portfolio linked to former President Trump may have sold $2.4 million worth of Ethereum – Arkham data

What is NFT?

Abbreviation for “Non-Fungible Token”, a digital token that is non-fungible and has unique value. It is not only used for exchanging “digital items” in blockchain games, but also for proof of ownership of expensive works of art, and is an innovative tool for rights holders (creators) in the “secondary distribution market,” which was difficult to achieve through second-hand sales. It is also attracting attention as a means of giving back.

Virtual currency glossary