By
Bhushan Akolkar
May 20th, 2024
Trump criticized the Biden administration’s stance on digital assets, adding that the US president has no real knowledge of the emerging economy.
As the 2024 United States election draws near, Donald Trump is gearing up for his presidential campaign in a new way – by embracing crypto donations to aid his race for the White House.
The move comes as a surprise to many, considering Trump’s previous criticism of the emerging economy, particularly against Bitcoin (BTC), calling it a scam currency competing against the US dollar.
However, the former US president, who ruled the country between 2017 and 2021, had a change of heart earlier this year during an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box”. He pledged that if re-elected, his administration would not crack down on BTC and other digital assets. Now, he is fully backing the industry and is set to welcome crypto contributions to fuel his bid for the White House.
Trump Supporters Can Now Use Crypto for Campaign Donations
Donald Trump announced his plan to accept crypto assets for campaign donations in a series of video clips shared on the social media platform X by Frank Degods, a non-fungible token (NFT) developer and influencer.
In the footage, the former US president directly addressed his supporters who attended the Trump Cards NFT Gala event held at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on May 8.
When asked if they could support his campaign with cryptocurrencies, Trump responded affirmatively, declaring his support for the industry.
“If you can’t, I’ll make sure you can. Can we donate to the Trump campaign using crypto? I believe the answer is yes,” Trump said in the video.
Trump’s Stance on Cryptocurrencies: A Call for Support
In a different video, Trump asked his crypto supporters to vote for him during the upcoming election.
Donald Trump says “If you’re in favor of Crypto, you better vote for Trump” pic.twitter.com/5AGYIfsNOg
— Randi Hipper (@missteencrypto) May 9, 2024
He also criticized the Biden administration’s stance on digital assets, adding that the US president has no real knowledge of the emerging economy.
“If you ask Biden, are you for or against crypto? What’s that? What? Get me off the stage. Now, he has no idea. But look, [he’s] very much against it. The Democrats are very much against it,” he said.
When asked if he would support keeping crypto businesses in the US, Trump told the crowd he is committed to ensuring the progress of the digital asset economy in the country, addressing concerns about any potential departure due to anti-crypto sentiments.
He further stressed the need to embrace the industry and ensure its presence domestically.
“If crypto is moving out of the US because of hostility toward crypto… well, we’ll stop it. We don’t want that. If we’re going to embrace it, we have to let them be here,” Trump said in one of the videos.
While making jokes about Biden’s lack of interest in crypto, Trump randomly mentioned a memecoin created based on the US president. He told his supporters that he didn’t like the token called Jeo Boden (BODEN) after learning it had already accumulated $240 million in market capitalization.
Following Trump’s remarks, the token experienced an 18.5% surge in value within the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.