The fight over the U.S. crypto voters is heating up. David Bailey, the CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, which is organizing the event, tweeted that Kamala Harris, the United States Vice President, will not appear at the upcoming Bitcoin 2024 conference.
The Bitcoin conference is scheduled from Thursday, July 25, to Saturday, July 27.
Donald Trump is expected to speak at the conference, with some suggesting he may announce his intentions to list Bitcoin as a U.S. reserve currency.
Following President Joe Biden’s decision to quit the Presidential race, Harris gained the support of Democratic delegates to lead the party, according to an A.P. survey:
source: A.P.
If Harris had joined the Bitcoin conference, it would have become a rigid battle for the votes of U.S. crypto enthusiasts. Trump will be the highlight of the event for Bitcoin investors.
Crypto Politics
Due to the U.S. administration’s tough stance on cryptocurrencies that angered the U.S. crypto community, Trump decided to act and present a pro-crypto approach.
The number of U.S. crypto holders is rising. Research by Triple A shows that as of 2022, there were around 53 million cryptocurrency holders in the United States.
It is the key reason crypto has become a focal point of the upcoming elections.
source: Triple A
To further appeal to the crypto community, at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C., Trump said he would commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, a marketplace on the darknet.
“If you vote for me, on Day 1, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to a sentence of time served.
“He’s already served 11 years; we’re gonna get him home.”
To boost his crypto-friendly approach. Trump announced he is accepting crypto donations for his campaign.
According to the WSJ, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini, donated $1.6M worth of Bitcoin, and the co-founder of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange donated $845k worth of Ethereum.
It would appear that the key figures from the crypto industry have expressed their support for Trump, but will he deliver? Not everyone agrees.
Crypto voters could lose all leverage
Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co-founder, warned that Trump sees crypto as a political tool. Once the elections are over, the crypto community could lose all its leverage.
Instead, Hayes suggests pressure on the current U.S. administration to pass legislation before the elections. It can be done if the crypto community unites and votes as one bloc.
According to PolitiFact, Trump has broken 55 of its campaign promises, compromised on 23, and only 24 promises were kept:
source: PolitiFact
Arthur Hayes may not be wrong. However, Trump appears to have conducted thorough research on cryptocurrencies.
He will do his best to deliver at the Bitcoin conference, which may trigger volatility in the crypto markets (as he can fall short of expectations).
Despite forfeiting the conference, Mark Cuban hinted that her approach to crypto would be different from Biden’s. In an interview with Politico, Cuban said the following:
“The feedback I’m getting, though not confirmed by the VP, is that she will be far more open to business, artificial intelligence, crypto, and government as a service.
“Changing the policies changes the message and lets everyone know she is in charge and open, literally, for business.”
Reports also suggest Harris’ team has approached key figures in the crypto industry to determine her policy. Harris has around four weeks to present her agenda at the Democratic National Convention.
Despite missing the Bitcoin conference, we may face significant volatility, including in US markets, as crypto takes the stage in the Presidential race.
