Former President Donald Trump has vowed to sack the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission in an attempt to end the “persecution” of the crypto industry.
Speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference over the weekend, the Republican nominee said he would end the Biden administration’s “crusade” against the digital currency.
“On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler,” he added. The SEC chief has been seen as overly harsh on the crypto industry by fanatics.
Instead Trump said the rules on crypto should be “written by people who love your industry, not by people who hate your industry”.
He also said he would abandon the creation of a central bank digital currency, appoint a crypto advisory council, and keep bitcoin seized from criminal activity to use as a strategic reserve.
The speech was a sharp departure from Trump’s previous views on digital currencies, after saying their value was “based on thin air” and bitcoin was “a scam”.
But recently, Silicon Valley and crypto businesses have begun to rally round the former president, and he became the first major party candidate to accept donations in crypto.
However, Trump’s new rhetoric on digital currencies wasn’t able to be maintained throughout the entire speech, as he signed off by saying: “Have a good time with your bitcoin and your crypto and everything else you’re playing with.”