Washington:

Former President Donald Trump has promised to make the US a “Bitcoin superpower” if returned to the White House and said that he will appoint an advisory council to design transparent regulatory guidance for the benefit of the entire industry.

But Trump, the Republican nominee, stopped short of proposing a formal federal reserve of digital currency.

Trump made a series of cryptocurrency-friendly policy commitments during remarks at a Bitcoin convention Saturday, including promising to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and creating a “strategic national Bitcoin stockpile.” “I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world,” Trump, 78, said.

Bitcoin is the world’s first widely adopted cryptocurrency — it allows for secure and seamless peer-to-peer transactions on the internet.

He also warned that Bitcoin investors in the audience will be “crushed” if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected as president.

“They (Democrats) want to choke you. They want to choke you out of business. We’re not going to let that happen. And no longer will your government sit by and watch as Bitcoin jobs and businesses flee to other countries because America’s laws are too unclear and too tough and too angry and too stiff. We will keep each and every Bitcoin job in the United States of America,” Trump said in his address to the Bitcoin2024 Conference, the cryptocurrency industry’s largest annual gathering, in Nashville’s Music City Center.

Trump is the first major party candidate to address the annual cryptocurrency conference.

Trump also promised to “immediately” establish a “Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council,” which he said would provide “transparent regulatory guidance” for the cryptocurrency sector. “I am proud to be the first American president to address a Bitcoin event anywhere in the world. If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the USA,” he said.

“We will have regulations, but from now on, the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry. People who want to make it clear and simple, straightforward and fair. People that want to see your industry thrive, not dive,” he said.

Trump also said he would end efforts by the US government to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC), an initiative that cryptocurrency enthusiasts have long been critical of.

“I will immediately order the treasury department and other federal agencies to cease and desist all steps necessary because there’s a thing going on in your industry. They want to move the creation of a central bank digital currency. It’s over. Forget it. There will never be a CBDC while I’m President of the United States. I will always defend the right to self-custody. You’re going to have a great industry, and we’re going to be fuel for your industry,” he said.

As president, Trump has declared Bitcoin “not money” and criticised it as “highly volatile and based on thin air.” But Saturday marked the culmination of a total reversal on the issue during the former president’s latest White House bid. Indian-American entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy is a key advisor to Trump on cryptocurrency.

Trump announced that as part of his effort to provide regulatory clarity, his administration will create a framework to enable the safe and responsible expansion of stable coins allowing them to extend the dominance of the US dollar to new frontiers all around the world.

“America will be richer, the world will be better, and there will be billions and billions of people brought into the crypto economy and storing their savings in Bitcoin. Those who say that Bitcoin is a threat to the dollar have the story backwards. Bitcoin is not threatening the dollar. The behaviour of the current US government is really threatening the dollar,” he said.

“The danger to our financial future does not come from crypto. It comes from trillions of dollars in waste, rampant inflation and open borders while giving welfare and free healthcare to all of the illegal aliens that are pouring into our country by the millions and millions and millions. It comes from printing hundreds of billions of dollars to fund endless wars overseas while our cities are like combat zones here at home,” he alleged.

Trump America under him will become the world’s undisputed Bitcoin mining powerhouse.

“You’ll be a Bitcoin mining powerhouse. You will not have to move your family to China. You will not be moving to China. As we implement these reforms, Bitcoin and crypto will grow our economy, cement American financial dominance and strengthen our entire country long into the future,” he said. PTI LKJ NSA NSA

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)