ISTANBUL
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump laid out his plan Saturday to ensure that the US will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world.
"If crypto is going to define the future, I want it mined, minted and made in the USA," he told the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. "It is not going to be made anywhere else."
"Bitcoin is going to the moon and I want America to be the nation that leads the way," he added.
Trump said he is proud to be the first major party nominee in American history to accept donations in Bitcoin and crypto.
"This is (like) the steel industry 100 years ago," Trump said about Bitcoin. "In 15 years, Bitcoin has become the most valuable asset anywhere in the world, it is already bigger than ExxonMobil," he added, referring to the largest energy company in the US.
Trump described his reason for taking the podium at the much-anticipated conference by cryptocurrency enthusiasts in two words -- "America First."
"If we don't do it, China and others will do it. So, let's do it first and let's do it right," said Trump. "We cannot let China dominate. I want the US to be first in technology, science, manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI) and space."
While Bitcoin mining consumes a lot much energy, according to critics, Trump said the US will be producing more electricity in the future than its own total consumption.
Trump noted that around 175 million people are involved in some form of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
He criticized the US administration of Joe Bide for regulations on cryptocurrencies and the industry.
"In three and a half years, the current administration has waged a war on crypto and Bitcoin like nobody has seen before,” he said. “They target your banks, they choke on your financial services, they block Americans from transferring their money to exchanges, they slander you as criminals.”
He also criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, who has become the presumptive presidential candidate of Democrats after Biden withdrew from the race.
"Kamala is worse than Joe. She is a radical left lunatic," said Trump. "She is against crypto."
Trump also criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) because he said the market watchdog is "obliterating Bitcoin."
"The reason could not be more clear because Bitcoin stands for freedom, sovereignty and independence from government coercion," he said. "The Biden-Harris administration's repression of crypto and Bitcoin is wrong, and it is very bad for our country, and it is quite un-American," he added.
Trump argued that if the Republicans do not win the election, "the country will be in bad shape," adding: "We have to fight and we have to win."
"I pledge to the Bitcoin community the day that I take the oath of the office, Joe Biden-Kamala Harris' anti-crypto crusade will be over. It will end. It will be done," he added.
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