Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is now declaring himself a staunch supporter of cryptocurrencies, promising that if he is re-elected to a second term in the White House in November, he will be the “pro-innovation, pro-bitcoin president that America needs.”
Trump has recently changed his mind about resources of this intangible nature, having spoken out against cryptocurrencies when he was president.
This is a 180-degree change from his 2021 statements, when he said he considered bitcoin a “fraud” that was hurting the value of the US dollar.
“Bitcoin represents freedom, sovereignty and independence from government coercion and control by the Biden-Harris administration,” Trump said during a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
The former president has promised that if he wins, he will not only “keep 100%” of the bitcoins held by the “US government,” but will make the digital currency a “hard core of the national strategic reserves.”
“This will be the policy of my administration,” he assured, urging American cryptocurrency holders to “never sell” their bitcoins.
“If we don’t embrace cryptocurrencies and bitcoin technology, China will,” he reiterated. “America’s destiny is to lead, to outshine its adversaries, and we will not cede our industries to anyone,” he stressed.
However, he acknowledged that for mining (i.e. “mining”, confirming transactions for a fee) and “production” of bitcoins and blockchains, “enormous amounts of electricity” will be required.
“We’re going to build power plants on the site. We’re going to use fossil fuels, because we have to. We’re going to use nuclear power. We’re going to produce so much electricity that you’re going to say, ‘Please, Mr. President, no more electricity!’” he joked.