Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday laid out a plan to turn the country into the "crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) superpower of the world," in one of the biggest shows of support by a presidential candidate towards the cryptocurrency industry. Trump's remarks came amid his keynote address at the three-day Bitcoin 2024 Conference being held in Nashville, Tenn. The former President and his running mate J.D. Vance have been courting votes and donations with the promise of lighter crypto regulation, as opposed to the current Biden administration's crackdown. "The reason I've come to address the bitcoin community today can be summed up in two very simple words - America first. Because if we don't do it, China's going to be doing it, others are going to be doing it. Let us do it and do it right," Trump said at the Conference. "If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA. It's not going to be made anywhere else. And if bitcoin is going to the moon, as we say, I want America to be the nation that leads the way," Trump added. Trump is already the first-ever major U.S. party nominee to accept donations in bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) and other crypto assets. The 78-year-old politician said he had already raised more than $25M since that announcement, with a "bunch of it in bitcoin, crypto and others." Trump also said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had been "very tough" on the crypto sector. If re-elected, "on day one, I will fire Gary Gensler and appoint a new SEC chairman," Trump added. "Upon taking office, I will immediately appoint a bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council. Their task will be to design transparent regulatory guidance for the benefit of the entire industry, and they will get it done in 100 days. We will have regulations, but from now on the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry," Trump said. The former U.S. leader also said that there would "never be a" central bank digital currency under his administration. "As part of our effort to provide regulatory clarity, we will create a framework to enable the safe, responsible expansion of staple stablecoins...allowing us to extend the dominance of the U.S. dollar to new frontiers all around the world," Trump said. "Those who say that bitcoin is a threat to the dollar have the story exactly backwards. I believe it is exactly backwards. Bitcoin is not threatening the dollar, the behavior of the current U.S. government is really threatening the dollar. The danger to our financial future does not come from crypto, it comes from Washington, D.C.," Trump added. The politician also said he would hold bitcoin in a strategic national stockpile if re-elected. Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) was last up about 1% to $68,667.74. Here are some crypto-focused exchange-traded funds that investors can track: Bitcoin Backed ETFs: ( IBIT ), ( ARKB ), ( GBTC ), ( BRRR ), ( BTCO ), ( HODL ), ( BTCW ), ( FBTC ), ( BITB ), and ( EZBC ). Blockchain ETFs: ( BITQ ), ( DAPP ), ( BKCH ), ( BLOK ), ( CRPT ), and ( IBLC ). Dear readers : We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion . More on bitcoin and crypto Cantor Fitzgerald to launch Bitcoin financing business Bitcoin set to rise marginally on weekly basis Spot Ether ETFs' Big Day: Looking Beyond Bitcoin Spot ether ETF launch 'surprisingly successful' amid lower trading activity: CoinShares BITO: Bitcoin's Role In The 2024 Election
