Trump Set to Speak at Bitcoin 2024 Event

Former President Donald Trump, previously known for his skepticism towards Bitcoin, is set to make a headline appearance at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, this weekend. This appearance is part of his strategy to rebrand himself as a “crypto president” as Election Day approaches.

The Bitcoin 2024 Conference, touted as the largest Bitcoin event globally, will take place over three days at the Music City Center convention complex. The event will feature an array of speakers, including independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., political commentator and comedian Russell Brand, and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Attendees can look forward to educational panels, networking opportunities, and unique entertainment experiences. Highlights include a Karate Combat/Influencer Fight Club viewing and a screening of “God Bless Bitcoin,” a film featuring interviews with prominent figures like billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and skateboarding icon Tony Hawk.

Trump’s 30-minute keynote address is scheduled for Saturday, the conference’s final day. His speech is anticipated to appeal to voters and leverage the support he has garnered from key cryptocurrency personalities such as the Winklevoss twins. Kennedy, who holds between $100,000 and $250,000 in Bitcoin, will speak on Friday afternoon. He has advocated for cryptocurrency as a means for the middle class to shield itself from inflation.

Tickets to the conference are priced from $699 to $21,000, with a 21% discount available for purchases made with Bitcoin. Edward Snowden, the whistleblower behind one of the most significant classified documents leaks in NSA history, is expected to address the conference from Russia on Friday. He has described cryptocurrency as “the most significant monetary advance since the creation of coinage.”

Bitcoin saw a decline of over 2% on Thursday afternoon, trading just below $65,000. The cryptocurrency has largely plateaued over the past three months, experiencing minimal gains. Despite this, Bitcoin has surged more than 53% since the beginning of the year. Trump’s campaign has received $1.8 million in Bitcoin donations through the end of June, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Bitcoin conference has historically served as a platform for public figures and companies to unveil new partnerships and initiatives. In 2021, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced at the event that Bitcoin would become legal tender in the country. Recent years have seen fluctuating attendance, with 25,000 attendees in 2022 during a major crypto market downturn, and 12,000 in 2023, according to Bloomberg. The attendance figures for Bitcoin 2024 have not yet been released, but the presence of high-profile speakers like Trump could potentially boost ticket sales.

Trump’s stance on cryptocurrency has evolved significantly. In 2019, while serving as president, he dismissed Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as “highly volatile and based on thin air,” and labeled them as a potential threat to the dollar. He further described Bitcoin as “a scam” in a 2021 Fox News interview, expressing his disapproval of it competing with the U.S. dollar. Since then, Trump has softened his view on cryptocurrency. He has embraced Bitcoin as a campaign donation method and selected JD Vance, a staunch Bitcoin supporter, as his running mate. Analysts from Bernstein, led by Gautam Chhugani, suggest that Bitcoin’s price is positively correlated with the likelihood of a Trump victory, potentially benefiting the cryptocurrency market if Trump wins in November. On the other hand, his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, is expected to follow the regulation-centric crypto policies of her former running mate, President Joe Biden.