Author: Trey Walsh, Bitcoin Magazine writer, TPBPod Executive Director
Translator: Ashley, BlockBeats
Editor's Note: The article analyzes Trump's motivations for entering the cryptocurrency space, revealing the essence of his profiteering through $TRUMP. The author criticizes the hype around the coin, pointing out that Trump is more focused on short-term gains and self-promotion, neglecting the core values of Bitcoin. The author calls for attention to the decentralization and actual use cases of cryptocurrencies, rather than speculative trading.
The following is the original content (edited for better readability):
Behind $TRUMP
When $TRUMP launched on Friday night, no one was surprised, or at least they shouldn't have been. Trump has always thrown himself wholeheartedly into ventures he believes can make him money, but these ventures often end in disaster. Some of his failed attempts include Trump Airlines, Trump Vodka, Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Magazine, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Trump Mortgage, and Trump Board Game. Now, cryptocurrency has become the new frontier he has decided to venture into.
I've written about and extensively discussed Trump's foray into the crypto space in an effort to win votes in the recent election. This attempt has been quite successful in many ways. At the Bitcoin Nashville conference this past summer, Trump made some notable remarks to garner support for his presidential run, including declaring that the US will become the "crypto capital of the world and a Bitcoin superpower," promising to fire Gary Gensler, and hoping that all remaining Bitcoins will be mined in the US (which is concerning from a decentralization perspective and highly unlikely in reality). He also stated that on his first day in office, he would commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht. If he actually does this, I'll be the first to applaud him. (For more information on this, I recommend watching the recent Reason documentary on why Ross should be released.)
Cryptocurrency is Trump's next battlefield, combining several elements he loves in business deals - quick and easy money, self-promotion, "America First" messaging, and virtually no bureaucratic obstacles. So, what is $TRUMP?
It is based on the Solana blockchain, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens. Initially, 200 million tokens were available for circulation, with the remaining 800 million held by CIC Digital, an affiliated company of the Trump organization, locked for three years (meaning the Trump family owns 80% of the supply...). After its launch, the $TRUMP market cap skyrocketed, being touted as a way for supporters to express their alignment with Trump's ideology, rather than an investment opportunity. But in my view, this is nothing more than a pump-and-dump self-enrichment scam, an unethical act, and the "investors" (or should I say "fans") are incredibly foolish to participate.
Crypto Policy Outlook: Speculative vs. Core Values
As we approach the inauguration on Monday, we are entering uncharted territory, where Trump may sign executive orders related to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Now, with the power of the presidency, he is more confident, unconcerned with legal issues, and has a base of supporters that I truly believe will back him in anything. As he famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay?"
Some of his actions may benefit the Bitcoin industry and its supporters in the US. But many of his actions may also benefit the broader cryptocurrency space, which is rife with pump-and-dump scam coins and get-rich-quick schemes designed for the wealthy and lobbyists. This speculative and dumping crypto environment, along with his meme coins and NFTs, aligns perfectly with Trump's logic. In fact, I'd bet he genuinely believes the purpose of cryptocurrencies is just that, while knowing very little about Bitcoin. Trump has repeatedly stated that he "loves playing with crypto," and at the end of his Bitcoin conference keynote this summer, he said, "Have fun, whether it's Bitcoin, crypto, or anything else."
Trump's experience and views on cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin revolve around fun and easy money-making. But for many in the Bitcoin space, we are fighting for so much more, including Bitcoin as a censorship-resistant digital currency, digital gold, self-custody and privacy tool, and a powerful tool for human rights. This is not gambling... this is challenging the dollar and central bank rules of the future currency.
If Trump truly starts to understand this, based on his past record and statements about Bitcoin, he is likely to oppose such uses of Bitcoin. Or perhaps he understands Bitcoin to some degree and would rather promote "fun" meme coins, or even the concept of Bitcoin as digital gold, but not go beyond that. After all, he explicitly stated in 2021: "Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam. I don't like it because it's another currency competing against the dollar." He also added that he wants the dollar to be the "world currency." On this concept, I strongly recommend following Mark Goodwin and his research on the Bitcoin-dollar dynamic.
Trump wants you to keep playing with cryptocurrencies, funneling funds to his organizations, but he is unlikely to support anyone using Bitcoin to compete with the dollar, bypass the traditional financial system, or use privacy tools (especially if you are his opponent or one of what he may consider "left-wing/woke" reasons, and perhaps one day he'll classify our non-profit Progressive Bitcoin People as such). I will continue to promote Bitcoin as a resistance currency, and I hope you'll join me, rather than endlessly gambling on cryptocurrencies "and whatever else you're playing with."
