Former President Donald Trump said at a Silicon Valley fundraiser on Thursday that he would be a “crypto president,” while the Biden administration has been staunchly anti-innovation.
Trevor Traina, a Silicon Valley tech executive and former Trump ambassador, said, “He said he would be the crypto president.”Trump made his case as a champion for cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin during a fundraiser hosted by tech venture capitalists David Sachs and Chamath Palihapitiya at Sacks’s home.
Silicon Valley and the cryptocurrency industry have warmed to the 45th president as President Joe Biden and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler have pushed staunchly anti-crypto policies.
For instance, Biden in early June vetoed a bill that would have overturned an SEC regulation that would have forced banks that have cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets to be listed as a liability.
Even though San Fransisco has trended leftist, many have warmed to Trump.
“President Trump made clear that the Biden-Gensler crusade against crypto will grind to a halt within one hour of a second Trump administration,” Jacob Helberg, an advisor to analytics firm Palantir, said.
Executives from the digital currency exchange Coinbase, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who founded the crypto exchange Gemini, and other crypto leaders attended Thursday’s fundraiser.
Trump also became the first U.S. president to accept Bitcoin Lightning Network donations.
As lawmakers and Trump have started championing cryptocurrencies, there still remain many critics of the burgeoning financial technology industry.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) told Breitbart News in an interview in late-May that most anti-crypto advocates are “dinosaurs.” who are often old.
Most of the anti-crypto advocates are:
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a staunchly anti-crypto progressive, is 74 years old.
- Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) is 69 years old.
- Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is 85 years old.
- President Joe Biden is 81 years old.
- SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is 66 years old.
Trump wrote in late May:
I AM VERY POSITIVE AND OPEN MINDED TO CRYPTOCURRENCY COMPANIES, AND ALL THINGS RELATED TO THIS NEW AND BURGEONING INDUSTRY. OUR COUNTRY MUST BE THE LEADER IN THE FIELD. THERE IS NO SECOND PLACE. CROOKED JOE BIDEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY, WANTS IT TO DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH. THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN WITH ME!
Trump reportedly raised $12 million from the fundraiser.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
