Author: flowie, ChainCatcher
On July 28, Beijing time, the three-day Bitcoin 2024 (Nashville) came to an end.
Bitcoin 2024 is destined to leave the most significant mark in the history of encryption. At the critical time of the 2024 US presidential election, this Bitcoin technology forum has become one of the largest political stages.
Compared with the previous focus on Bitcoin technology innovation, Bitcoin 2024 is full of politicians, and the market focus is almost all on the politicians' encryption promises.
US presidential candidates Trump, Robert Kennedy Jr., and several US senators participated in the meeting and proposed key strategies for Bitcoin and even the future direction of the encryption market.
After more than ten years of development, the Bitcoin Conference has grown from a forum that only technical geeks pay attention to to a political stage where politicians gather. Behind it is the expanding influence of cryptocurrency, which has finally entered the mainstream.
Bitcoin may not need politicians, but politicians now need cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin 2024 becomes a political stage with the right time, place and people
Bitcoin 2024 has transformed from a technical forum to a political stage, which may have a profound impact on the direction of the crypto market in the next few years.
The last election year was 2020, when crypto was not only in a bear market, but also the Bitcoin Conference was not held as scheduled due to the global epidemic.
Bitcoin 2024 is at a critical time in the US presidential election, and the crypto market is in a bull market, attracting more voters, especially young voters.
With the continuous expansion of Bitcoin and the market value of cryptocurrencies, crypto voters have also become a force that crypto politicians cannot ignore.
In 2013, when the first Bitcoin Conference was launched, the price of Bitcoin was only around $120, while in the last election year of 2020, it was around $8,000.
During Bitcoin 2024, the price of Bitcoin has approached $70,000. This year, the market value of Bitcoin once surpassed silver. Trump also said in his speech at the conference that according to the development momentum of Bitcoin, one day it may surpass gold.
Crypto voters have a significant influence on the election in key battleground states. A study released by Coinbase on July 11 showed that one-sixth of cryptocurrency holders live in key states.
Crypto voters are young and diverse, and are very active politically. 90% of cryptocurrency voters plan to vote on November 5, and their enthusiasm for supporting cryptocurrency candidates is four times that of non-voters.
In addition to the influence of crypto voters, the money power of crypto upstarts cannot be ignored.
After experiencing regulatory crackdowns from 2022 to 2023, many crypto companies such as Ripple, Coinbase, and Kraken have tried to obtain a better living environment through crypto donations. As of June, crypto upstarts have donated more than $200 million to the US election, setting a new record.
Secondly, Trump's assassination made him the most promising candidate to be elected as the new president of the United States, and his participation brought great attention to Bitcoin2024. Trump and Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey had already reached a strategic alliance before the assassination. David Bailey's team has been providing advice to Trump's campaign and confirmed his attendance before the assassination.
Bitcoin 2024, which has become an important stage for politicians, may not be easily replicated in the future. It is bound to leave a strong mark in the history of encryption.
Politicians' encryption commitments at Bitcoin 2024 may have far-reaching influence
In addition to Trump's speech, Bitcoin 2024, where politicians gathered, there are also encryption commitments from multiple politicians that are worth paying attention to.
Trump, who is currently the most likely to be elected as the new president of the United States, in his speech in the early morning of July 28, in addition to criticizing the Biden administration for suppressing the encryption market and talking about the huge potential of Bitcoin in the future, Trump mainly mentioned the following promises to support the development of encryption after his election.
1. Fired SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on the first day of his presidency and immediately appointed a presidential advisory committee on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency; 2. There will never be a CBDC (central bank digital currency); 3. Promised not to sell Bitcoin in the hands of the US government and include it in the national strategic reserve; 4. Develop the energy industry and support Bitcoin mining.
Trump said he wanted to "ensure that the United States becomes the global capital of cryptocurrency and the superpower of Bitcoin" to lead and set standards.
However, Trump's golden sentence meme that night failed to replicate the momentum of memes such as FIGHT during his assassination. In the absence of radical emotional guidance, basically only "Never sell your Bitcoins" was refined into the golden sentence meme "NSYB" that night.
But unexpectedly, NSBY was quickly robbed of attention and liquidity by the dog owner's newly adopted Shiba Inu Neiro meme of the same name. Currently, NSYB is basically zero.
In addition to Trump, "including Bitcoin in the national strategic reserve" is also a key promise in the speeches of many politicians. Compared to Trump, the promise of Robert Kennedy Jr., the independent candidate for the US President who spoke first, was more specific and radical.
In his speech, Kennedy promised to start a reserve of 4 million Bitcoins on the day of his election, starting with Bitcoins stored by the US government from criminal seizures. In addition, he will ask the government to buy 550 Bitcoins a day until the reserve reaches 4 million.
Kennedy said: "US BTC holdings should match the size of gold reserves."
Speaking after Trump, Republican Senator Cynthia Loomis of Wyoming read out her own legislative proposal, proposing to accumulate an official US Federal Reserve of 1 million Bitcoins within five years.
Loomis said: "The money will be held for at least 20 years for one purpose: to reduce our debt."
Previously, many research institutions have also analyzed that the inclusion of Bitcoin in the US national strategic reserve will have many impacts.
First of all, the price. If Bitcoin becomes a strategic reserve asset, investors' demand for Bitcoin will inevitably increase sharply, pushing up its price, and its status in the future will be comparable to gold.
At the same time, it will also attract other countries or regions to follow the footsteps of the United States and include Bitcoin in their reserve assets.
In response to the speech at the Bitcoin Conference, Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang immediately stated on the social platform that in compliance, Bitcoin can be considered to be included in the strategic fiscal reserve in the future.
There are also many senators who promised to promote policies that are beneficial to the development of digital assets. US Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna said at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference that he had officially sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee of the United States to urge them to reformulate digital asset policies, hoping to advocate the adoption of a pro-innovation approach to support the growth and development of digital assets.
Democrat Wiley Nickel said that 28 elected Democratic members wrote to party leaders, making four requests to the Democratic National Committee and the next Democratic presidential candidate: include aspects of supporting digital assets in the party platform, select a vice presidential candidate who is proficient in digital asset policies, select a SEC chairman who supports innovation, and engage with the industry in a meaningful way.
In addition, several politicians said that they personally hold Bitcoin assets and will continue to expand their holdings to show their support for Bitcoin and encryption.Kennedy said that most of his wealth is invested in Bitcoin, and Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate John Deaton announced that 82% of his net worth will be invested in Bitcoin.
Although there were constant pro-cryptocurrency comments at the conference, it was not all applauded.Edward Snowden, a former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA), mentioned the privacy issues brought about by Bitcoin in his keynote speech at the conference. He believes that Bitcoin transactions are not anonymous and can be traced back to individuals, which poses a risk to personal privacy.
Politicians’ crypto promises to win crypto votes are also facing questions about whether they can be fulfilled. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes once again reminded crypto users not to easily believe their promises. “Don’t be stupid, let these blood suckers do something positive for crypto before considering giving them money,” he wrote on X.
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