Donald Trump, Former U.S. president, expressed his intention to include Bitcoin in the country’s strategic reserves in case of his re-election. His opponent, Robert F. Kennedy, expressed a similar opinion. Hong Kong authorities are also considering Bitcoin an asset for state reserves.
During a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Donald Trump, ex-U.S. President and current Republican Party Candidate, said that cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, could play a key role in the future financial system. Therefore, if he wins the presidential election in November, he’ll consider BTC a tool to strengthen the economic stability and independence of the United States.
On the conference stage, Trump made several high-profile statements related to the cryptocurrency market and BTC in particular. Here are a few of them:
- “Bitcoin will one day surpass gold.”
- “If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted, and made in the USA.”
- “If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future.”
Trump also promised that his first decision in office, if re-elected, would be to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler to stop the prosecution of cryptocurrencies.
His election opponent echoed the former president’s rhetoric. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (RFK), the nephew of the 35th U.S. President, spoke on the same stage as Trump. According to him, Bitcoin should be used as a government asset. Kennedy Jr. believes that the inclusion of cryptocurrency in the U.S. economic strategy will help protect the country from inflation and external economic influences.
Despite the active support of Bitcoin by politicians, the most striking speech at the conference was that of Edward Snowden, Former NSA Employee and Whistleblower. He was critical of Donald Trump‘s and other politicians’ remarks about including Bitcoin in the U.S. strategic reserves, as such initiatives could lead to increased government control over cryptocurrencies, which contradicts their decentralized nature. Snowden also emphasized that politicians’ active crypto support rests solely on the desire to attract voters. According to him, it’s important to remember that the authorities aren’t interested in citizens’ financial freedom and independence, which cryptocurrencies provide.
Amid Trump’s statements regarding plans to promote Bitcoin in the United States, Justin Sun, Founder of TRON, called on the Chinese government to change its public policy on cryptocurrencies. In his opinion, competition between the U.S. and China regarding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will benefit the entire industry. However, the PRC authorities should adjust their regulatory approach.
While the U.S. authorities are only discussing the potential of Bitcoin at the state level, the Hong Kong administration is already taking important steps to integrate BTC into the economy. According to Johnny Ng, Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, the authorities of the special administrative region of China are considering including Bitcoin in their financial reserves. The initiative will strengthen the financial stability of the region and attract investment.
In Hong Kong, a new licensing regime for stablecoins will soon come into force. Moreover, the region’s authorities are actively developing industry standards for tokenization.
