Trump in talks to speak at Bitcoin convention in July
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Former President Trump greets a crowd in Wisconsin this month. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty
Former President Trump is in talks to speak at the big Bitcoin 2024 convention in Nashville at the end of July, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: Trump's embrace of crypto has contrasted with President Biden's coolness toward digital currency — and led some wealthy crypto investors to back the Republican's campaign.
Zoom in: Bitcoin 2024, an event run by Bitcoin Magazine, will take place July 25-27 — the week after the Republican National Convention. It's seen as the largest Bitcoin event of the year.
- It was at a Bitcoin event in Miami that the nation of El Salvador announced its intention to make the original cryptocurrency legal tender.
- Trump wouldn't be the only presidential candidate at the convention. Independent contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is slated to speak there, as are former GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
- Representatives of Bitcoin Magazine did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump has made Bitcoin an issue on the campaign trail.
- "I will end Joe Biden's war on crypto," Trump said at a recent rally in Wisconsin. "We will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in America."
The big picture: Cryptocurrency is one of several issues that Trump has changed his position on this campaign cycle in an effort to attract more supporters.
- After spearheading the original U.S. threat to ban TikTok over national security concerns, Trump came out against efforts in Congress this year to go after the app.
Flashback: The annual gathering of Bitcoiners has been no stranger to controversial speakers.
- In previous years it featured Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson and investor Peter Thiel.
The other side: The Biden administration has had a tepid reaction to the rise of cryptocurrency; some in the industry see the administration as hostile and undermining it on multiple fronts.
State of play: Millions of people own cryptocurrency in America, though it's impossible to know how many people will actually think about those holdings in the voting booth.
