'Make Everybody Rich:' Donald Trump, Bitcoin 2024, What's New For Crypto
My reaction to seeing the orange man
Who better to lead the Orange Party than Donald Trump?
I saw Donald live and in person on Saturday in Nashville for the Bitcoin Conference 2024, where he changed everything for crypto and digital assets.
Really, I just wanted to feel the man’s vibe, if you catch my drift.
How does the room react? Who’s going to see him? Is he told old? Is he with it? Is the meme magic real that he can dodge a bullet like Neo?
All these questions were answered for me.
In Trump's first BTC speech in Nashville, he said he would:
Fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler
Create Strategic Stockpile (aka never sell current US bitcoin stack)
Create a Crypto task force, ending antagonistic regulations within 100 days
Not gonna tax your gains 50% like the Biden-Harris administration
Imagine traveling back to 2010 and telling Hal Finney (friend of Satoshi Nakamoto) that Donald Trump would be creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The mainstream media is missing a lot about this event because they're reporting hearsay. I was actually there, so here's the good, bad, and ugly of Trump's speech.
The Good: The whole economy will improve With Donald Trump
When I interviewed Brandon Green, head of staff at BTC Nashville, he said this would be the next Woodstock. While there was no Jimi Hendrix or LSD-tripping hippies (I met many people on shrooms), history was made in Nashville.
Trump walked out to "God Bless the USA"—albeit an hour late—but made a funny joke of it. He said the Secret Service told him they needed more time to case the room, and he said, "Take all the time you need."
His ear, nearly shot off by the assassin in Butler, PA, was fully repaired, and he made it clear early on: he's the business & innovation president.
"The reason I'm into Bitcoin is two words: America First," Trump said. "We want places like China to be successful with Bitcoin, but we want America to be the most successful."
Trump legitimized this point, in a bit of a pandering way, by telling the crowd to say "THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP," or their portfolio will go to ZERO.
Trump, like a comedian hitting the crowd's sweet spots, played up to what worked and ditched what didn't.
"Never sell your Bitcoin." - Donald Trump
So, is Trump the best crypto candidate?
No. I saw Robert Kennedy Jr. speak the day before Trump, whose audience was smaller but not too far off in support. It is clear RFK understands crypto more and promises to buy $4 million BTC if elected president.
"The United States holds 19% of global gold reserves, I don't see why we can't hold the same," Kennedy said. "Bitcoin is the perfect currency."
That said, Donald Trump has the best chance of winning the presidency in November. Moreover, should he win, Republicans may have total control of the government, and people like Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis will push their BTC agenda into reality. Also, don't forget that JD Vance, Trump's vice president, also holds Bitcoin.
The Bad: Will Trump keep any of his promises if elected?
Here’s what stood out to me most about Donald Trump:
He doesn’t know shit about crypto: At least not outside of what his interns told him. This is okay; he’s old, and just being a pro-crypto president is huge for the industry.
He is a Redpill Machine: Trump's is a Redpill sprinkler. He had a throwaway line about the Dem’s arm-twisting Biden to exit the scene, hinting at the entire party betraying him with threats of the 25th amendment.
Revenge of the Sith: Trump’s speeches are very dark. His voice echos through the halls like Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. I don’t think Trump is the bad guy. But his speeches revolve around WW3, the country being over if he isn’t elected, and all of us (especially crypto investors) being thrown in jail.
Some notable blunders in his speech can support this theory. The first thing that comes to mind is when he asks the crowd, "Does anyone here know what a stablecoin is?" and if anyone knows what a stablecoin is, "to put their hands up."
It felt like a grandpa, but like a cool grandpa, trying to understand all this talk about the bitcoins and TikTok and AI.
The Ugly: Edward Snowden Was Right
Something stuck with not said by Trump.
It was said by Edward Snowden, who played a pre-recorded statement on Day Two of the conference: “Do these feel like the best presidential candidates to you? Doesn’t something feel off?”
Yes, something does feel off.
Trump is a lot of fun, but he doesn’t have the same magic as 2016.
It just feels as though America is at the end of something, and ostensibly, we need to rise up again with people who feel “with it,” aren’t liars, and make us feel good about being Americans.
Not this one side vs. the other cold civil war that it feels like we’re in.
I know I’m rambling a bit in this, but this had to be said.
I will say, the first president to endorse Bitcoin and crypto is a big deal.
Heck, it's already making the Kamala Harris camp change their tune about Bitcoin, asking for a "reset" with crypto companies.
Trump's actions, particularly in establishing a BTC strategic reserve, will resonate strongly even with those new to the industry and is CRAZY bullish. Even if he backs out of other promises, I have a hard time believing he could back out of this one without serious backlash.
Things are about to get crazy, hopefully in a good way.
Great insight and glad you got to see him to figure him out.
Have yet to listen to it, but the red eyes gave me a real giggle 🦁