Former President Donald Trump has changed his tune on crypto quite a bit in recent years. Since declaring he was “not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies” on Twitter five years ago, he now appears to be rebranding himself as the “crypto president” before the U.S. election this November.
On Saturday, Trump will give the keynote address at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, and the suspense building around what he could say is already palpable in the crypto community.
The three-day event takes place at the Music City Center and features panels, discussions, networking opportunities, and the screening of a new bitcoin movie called “God Bless Bitcoin.” With over 35,000 attendees and a speaker lineup that attracts political, cultural, and financial leaders, it is expected to be the largest Bitcoin event ever.
Other notable speakers include comedian and podcaster Russell Brand, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, CEO of ARK Cathie Wood, Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor, whistleblower Edward Snowden, and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, who is set to speak Friday afternoon, said that the majority of his wealth is in bitcoin and he is “fully committed.” In the past, he has been outspoken about crypto’s potential for protecting the middle class from inflation.
There are also rumors circulating that Elon Musk is in Nashville and will make a surprise visit to the conference. He recently changed his profile picture on X to laser eyes, setting Crypto Twitter abuzz with speculation.
Some are hoping Trump will reveal his intention to use bitcoin as a reserve currency if he wins the upcoming election. The U.S. already holds around 213,000 bitcoin (worth around $14.18 billion with today’s prices) from funds it’s seized from illicit activities over the years.
However, others have pointed out that announcing such a transformative economic strategy months before the election would be unwise and give other world powers a head start to accumulate bitcoin. Either way, Trump will have an opportunity to lay out his opinions about Bitcoin to the cryptocurrency community once and for all tomorrow.
Tickets for Bitcoin 2024 start at $699 and go all the way up to $21,000 for VIP. For folks who can’t make it to Nashville but are interested in hearing the speakers, the conference is being live-streamed on YouTube and Rumble.
Trump and Melania Have Been Bullish on Web3
A potential U.S. president who is bullish on Bitcoin is a huge development in the space. But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Donald Trump lean into Web3. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several articles about Trump and his wife Melania embracing Web3 technology, especially non-fungible tokens.
Here’s a review of some of the top headlines:
- July 2024. Former President Trump to Release 4th NFT Collection
- May 2024. Donald Trump Hosts Dinner at Mar-a-Lago for NFT Buyers
- April 2024. Melania Trump Unveils Mother’s Day NFT Collection
- January 2024. Trump Gifts Limited Ordinals To People Who Purchase 100 NFTs
- December 2023. Donald Trump Now On Third NFT Release With ‘Mugshot Edition’
- June 2023. Melania Trump Unveils Independence Day NFTs on Solana
As you can see, Trump has been involved heavily with NFTs for years now, which has likely increased his knowledge and understanding of crypto and Bitcoin. Recently, he made waves in the space when he said he would “ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in America.”
Tomorrow, perhaps he’ll give us some insight into exactly how he aims to do that.