Campaign In San Francisco, Donald Trump Claims To Be Ready To Become Crypto President

JAKARTA - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump presented himself as a cryptocurrency champion and condemned the Democratic Party's attempts to regulate the sector during a fundraising event in San Francisco on Thursday, June 7.

Trump raised $12 million from a fundraising event organized by tech venture captions David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya at Sacks' home in the luxurious Pacific Heights neighborhood.

"He said he would become president of cryptocurrencies," said Trevor Traina, a technology executive based in San Francisco and former Trump's ambassador to Austria.

The cryptocurrency industry is increasingly trying to influence US politicians as it faces tighter scrutiny from regulators, especially after the bankruptcy of major cryptocurrency companies by 2022 has made investors nervous, exposed fraud and abuses, and left millions of investors in trouble.

"Trump praises cryptocurrencies as important and emphasizes that they strongly support the sector," said Republican National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon.

Dhillon said Trump, who is campaigning to overthrow Democratic incumbent Joe Biden in the November 5 election, did not offer details on his proposed cryptocurrency policy.

Biden signed an executive order in 2022 aimed at ensuring the development responsible for digital assets, which led to reports encouraging regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to issue guidelines and rules to address risks in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The White House under Biden also said it wanted to work with Congress to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.

In a statement, a White House spokesman, Robyn Badminton, said that the Biden administration has supported innovation in digital assets while trying to protect consumers from "the risks associated with new technologies".

Although San Francisco is very liberal, a large number of leading local cryptocurrency ventures and investors have provided their support to Trump, some calling excessive regulations their reason.

"President Trump has firmly stated that Biden-Gensler's campaign against cryptocurrencies will stop within an hour of Trump's second administration," said Jacob Helberg, an adviser to the Palantir data analytics provider, referring to SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

Executives of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, twin brothers of cryptocurrency investors Tyler and Cameron▁Utamavoss, and other cryptocurrency leaders also attended on Thursday.

Gemini spokeswoman, the company founded by twin brothersGUvoss, did not immediately comment.

Sacks and Palihapitiya have spoken publicly about their investment in cryptocurrencies, especially in bitcoin.

The founder of the now bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried, was found guilty last year of theft from customers. Prosecutors accused him of using the funds to donate more than $100 million to the US political campaign.