Former U.S. president Donald Trump seems to soften his stance on Bitcoin during a town hall event in South Carolina this week.
Speaking to Fox News ahead of the state’s Republican Primary, Trump explained that “many people are embracing” Bitcoin and he’s “seeing people wanting to pay [with] Bitcoin,” and that he can “live with it one way or the other.”
It’s a tepid embrace, but the Republican front-runner’s previous stance on cryptocurrency used to be more hardlined. Back in 2019, while still in office, Trump said he is “not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies” stating that they are “not money” and it’s value is based on “thin air.”
Since then, he’s either personally launched or had crypto projects launched based on him and his political career. There’s also been a lot of attention paid to a wallet that’s been linked to the former POTUS.
During Trump’s term in office, the SEC’s preferred method of providing guidance appeared to be through a string of enforcement actions and warnings that BTC sales “may” violate securities laws. At the time the SEC also pushed back on Bitcoin ETFs, resulting in several firms withdrawing their proposals.
Trump followed his recent remarks by talking about plans to regulate the cryptocurrency market. “It’s taken [on] a life of its own,” the former president said. “You probably have to do some regulation.”
A big part of Trump’s stance on cryptocurrency has surrounded the superiority of the dollar. In 2021, Trump said that Bitcoin “seems like a scam.”
“I want the dollar to be the currency of the world—that’s what I’ve always said,” he added.
This softening of his approach on Bitcoin doesn’t mean that he’s weakened his stance on the dollar, however. “I’ve always liked one currency…. I like the dollar,” Trump told Fox News this week, which garnered applause from the audience. “I’ve always liked one really powerful thing. And, that’s called the dollar.”
Meanwhile, during Joe Biden’s term in office, the White House released its “first-ever comprehensive framework for responsible development of digital assets.” The President’s executive order outlined the potential misuse of cryptocurrencies and told government agencies to double their efforts to identify gaps in crypto regulation.
Biden has seemingly been more hands on when it comes to crypto. This includes attempting to close a crypto tax loophole, pushing to introduce a 30% tax for crypto mining operations (which was eventually blocked), and releasing a fiery report blasting crypto for “ignorance of basic economic principles.”
That said, more recently, we’ve seen the SEC approve Bitcoin Spot ETFs and Biden’s X account appropriating a Bitcoin meme—although this was likely in reference to a non-crypto, sport related meme.
It seems Trump could be trying to position himself as the candidate who’s got a softer stance on Bitcoin ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
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